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People's first memories vary wildly in age, emotional attachment, etc. For me, my first really clear memory was from when I was about four. An uncle decided it would be hilarious to put on a super realistic werewolf mask and chase me around his apartment. For whatever reason, he found my terror genuinely funny. I'm almost 40 years old now and still incredibly uncomfortable around him and don't speak to him.
Reddit user CJRecycle asked:
What's your first ever memory?
For a lot of people, their first memory was far less werewolfy, but just as emotionally intense. Others had simple sweet seemingly-unimportant little moments. Check out the kinds of responses CJRecycle got.
Whistles And Giggles
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I was maybe 2.5. I had been moved to a bed still in the nursery room. My brother was in his crib. He had a stuffy nose that was whistling when he would breathe. We both thought it was funny so he'd intentionally breath through his nose to make it whistle. Instead of sleeping like we were supposed to be we were just laying there giggling.
Lone Ranger
Lying in bed with my parents, choosing a name for my soon-to-arrive little brother. I would've been 3 and a bit. My parents did not opt for my suggestion of "Lone Ranger."
Sudden Wave Pool
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About a month after my fourth birthday, a pretty large earthquake happened in the Puget Sound area that I explicitly remember because I was in a swim lesson at the time, and the pool turned into a wave pool. I'm now about to start a PhD in geophysics, and you'd better believe that anecdote was in my admissions essays.
Shocked Into Existence
4 years old, put a pair of scissors in the VCR and shocked the hell out of myself. Will never forget that feeling. I guess you could say I shocked myself so bad that my consciousness came into existence, lol.
Kinder Egg Snuggles
I was sitting on the floor. Doing absolutely nothing and just staring at a door. 10 seconds later my dad comes through that door and hugs me. He puts me down and gives me a Kinder Surprise Egg.
Mom Forgot A Year
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It was my 3rd birthday but I was trying to convince my mum it was my 4th so she would let me start going to kindergarten.
- justt-a
Hamfeet
I remember looking at the bottom of my foot and saying "wow my feet look like ham" and I will. Never. Forget. That.
I was probably five.
The Post-Surgery Accident
I was three years old when this happened. My mom had surgery and her bladder was still under the effects of anesthesia, so she couldn't pee. She also felt nauseous, so she was kneeling by the toilet. She finally threw up and wound up pissing herself at the same time. She started crying, and I really wanted to comfort her, but my grandma ushered me away. We laugh about it now, but at the time it was very worrying and sad for me.
The Peaceful, Safe Feeling
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Sitting on my front porch on a Saturday morning, listening to my mom sing along to "Carolina In My Mind" by James Taylor. It was raining and the front door was open so she could keep an eye on me while she cleaned the living room. I was probably a couple of months shy of 4 years old. Mostly I remember the sound of her singing and the sound of the rain and this super peaceful, safe feeling that is kind of the epitome of my early childhood.
No Other Kids Would Ever Be There
I was a pretty sick kid and spent much time at a children's hospital. Going in to one surgery, I remember being wheeled in and telling the doctor (who looked like my Dad) to tell my Dad I loved him. I also remember playing with another super young kid in the Sesame Street play area (room?), but no other kids would ever be there. Turns out the kid had AIDS and no other parent would let their kids play with him (I learned later on.)
Way Smaller Than In My Memory
Sitting in a round, huge window at an airport watching the airplanes.
I recently flew from this airport again. Those windows are way smaller than in my memory. Still sat in that window again. That was a strange feeling.
A Movie Star
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One of my favorite early memories is when I saw a black man for the first time. This was back when Iceland wasn't the tourist destination it is today. A cruise ship came into port and the passengers came to see the town and were walking past my house where I was playing in the garden. And there he was - a black man. I had only seen people of color on TV before and I stood there wide eyed, mouth hanging open and STARING at that poor man.
I then ran inside to tell my mother; it was like I had seen a movie star.
Plot Twist
I remember stepping on a nail sticking out of a hardwood floor as a toddler. I limped to a woman sitting on the floor, and I sat in her lap while she put a bandaid on my foot. Found out twenty years later that she was the woman my dad had an affair with.
- dalupa
Floating Baby
People probably won't believe me.. but I legit remember floating over a kitchen table, watching a microwave finish heating something and it being fed to me.. it was the house I grew up in, I remember every detail of what was in front of me, what I felt, what I was hearing.. only to realize I was "floating" because I was in my moms arms. I legit remember being a baby.
- Kokumei
Midnight Bananas
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I woke my dad up late at night because I wanted to eat bananas. He drove me to supermarket at midnight to buy them. I remember him carrying me into the shop in the middle of the night. He passed away when I was only 5, so I have very few memories of him but this one is the first and most special.