Question 4b

Would you still be you if you couldn't remember your past? Absolutely.

First of all, what makes you you? Looking back at my notes from the first class we had, I had jotted down your experiences, your cultural identity, your family, your position in your community, and your ever changing elements. Even if you can't remember what you did last week, you are still you. Your family will still love you. They will still perceive you as you, not as someone else. They will remember the past experiences they've had with you even if you cannot. So if I say that they remember you as you once were, doesn't that mean then that you're technically not yourself anymore? This goes back to ever changing elements. Unless you pull a Freaky Friday and switch bodies with your mom/daughter, you are still you. Ever changing elements, which can refer to moving locations, switching jobs, or even in fact losing your memory, still form your identity. Memory loss just adds to your identity. You may have to be told the same things over and over again, but this just an additional aspect of your identity.

Even though she does not have Alzheimer's, my great aunt, who is like a grandma to me, does not remember anything anymore (which is perfectly understandable for a ninety five year old woman). She always forgets one of my numerous cousins' names or more frequently mixes our names up. I cannot count the number of times that she has called me Sinead, Pearse, Emma, Katie, and many other of my cousins' names. My mom has to constantly call her to remind her to take her medicine or to eat meals. Even though she is nowhere near as severe as Alzheimer's cases, she is still my Aunty Kay, my forgetful aunt who can talk for hours about books and smells of extremely strong Bengay.

In the tear jerker The Notebook, the character played by Rachel McAdams develops Alzheimer's. Did this stop her husband from loving her? Absolutely not. Because she is still the same person he fell in love with! During the course of the movie, he tells her the story of their relationship. He is still the same woman to her, even if she does not remember every single aspect of her life.

In a nutshell, you are still you even if you cannot remember anything. Your previous experiences are not altered, you just do not remember anything.