Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below.
Many persons believe that to move up the ladder of success and achievement, they must forget the past, repress it, and relinquish it. But others have just the opposite view. They see old memories as a chance to reckon with the past and integrate past and present.
Adapted from Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, I’ve Known Rivers: Lives of Loss and Liberation
Assignment: Do memories hinder or help people in their effort to learn from the past and succeed in the present? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.
In my opinion, memories help people to learn from the past and succeed in the future. They have values that will help us improve our lives in various ways.
Memories give us sense of alertness to prepare for the things that are about to come. For example, a few days after Indonesia declared its independence from Netherland and Japan, the Netherlands took a military action and attacked some big cities in Indonesia like Jogjakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung. The attack arrested for seven months due to some agreements made in the Linggajati Conference. However, Indonesia’s president, Soekarno, learned from the past attack and asked Syafrudin Prawiranegara to take over his place if the Netherlands decided to capture Soekarno. The Netherlands did come back for a second invasion and held captive of Soekarno. Luckily for the Indonesians, Soekarno’s plan helped Syafrudin to make plots and machinations on how to win battles over the Netherlands. The appointed man Syafrudin collected all the Indonesian soldiers and managed to fight back against the Netherlands. In the end, the attacks from Netherlands could be halted and Indonesia regained its freedom. If Soekarno had not thought to learn from the past, Indonesia would have been surprised by the second invasion and lost yet another battle.
“Study hard and you will get good grades” is a trite saying, but it is true. I have won a lot of English competitions ever since I was a kid, after all English was my favorite subject. One day, I decided not to study for the next day’s English test. I didn’t even open my English book and decided to read a novel instead. As a result, I got 65 and failed my test. When my parents found out about me failing my English test, they interrogated me. I came clean and admitted that I didn’t study, I thought English was my strongest subject and even if I didn’t study I would pass the test with flying colors anyway. Then my father said, “Next time you think of not studying for a test again, just remember this,” and he put down my test paper that had a large 65 on the table and walked away. Luckily my teacher allowed me to retake the test and I studied hard for it. In the end, my hard work paid off and I got 95. Were I to forget about my mistake and not study for the test again, I would have gotten another disgraceful score and earned severe punishment from my parents.
I think these two events serve as examples that memories should not be forgotten for they are teachers that remind us to keep learning from our past experiences and mistakes. Only by learning from the past, can we be better in the future.