memorisation

By Rini -

 August 2nd

 

You’re never too old to memorize, you can never escape memorisation. Be it phone numbers, otp’s, to do tasks etc. the only thing about it is that, it’s hard.

 

Trail Of Thoughts- 21

Sto-rini- 17



When I was younger, I was that one student who scored well in a language exam foreign to her. Hindi. Ever since I selected Hindi as my new second language after preschool of it being Telugu, I aced all my exams. Did I perform better than my fellow Hindi students? Yes. Did I get the highest despite being a Telugu speaker? Yes. Did I understand it? No.

I can comprehend Hindi, meaning I can decode it pretty well, but encoding, it’s not my cup of tea.

My Hindi is book-smart type. My vocabulary is nowhere to be used now. More like, nowhen to be used. Whenever I spoke in Hindi with my friends, I would use the textbook-old version of the word. It’s quite funny. For example, instead of saying, “Yoo dude, that class was fire!” I used to say, “Oh comrade of mine, the lecture was amusing/ fascinating.” Get it? It was a skill issue. (Still is)

 

Anyways, along with me many of the people in my life wondered how I scored really well. Though my teacher was not just wondering, she was very much suspicious. I still remember that day, clear as day. She asked us to write a gist of the chapter. I took that seriously and started working on it. Our textbooks, back then, had this about the author section before each text. And in the ending of that section, there is a brief gist of the text, like what’s it about. My smart4ss thought that if I just modified it, it would work. And so I did. I even went through some websites and mind you, I did not copy. I do not condone copying. And so I worked hard on that half a page ‘essay’ for the whole night. Next day, I read it before the class, proud. She immediately stopped me in the middle and said, “You copied. I asked everyone to write on their own.” I absolutely lost it. I defended myself but she just wouldn’t believe me. After a heated argument she relentlessly accepted it but to this date I don’t think she believed me. That was my villain origin story. Anyways.

 

Just like her, many people wondered how I was scoring well in another language. My only answer was memorization. Now that is a skill.

 

I wrote all my exams on memorization basis until 7th class, when my brother made a big deal out of it and pulled me out of that hypnotization. Indian system greatly encourages memorization. He basically called it the matrix but my brain (unwoke) could not comprehend it. My brother was one of those who couldn’t, for the love of their lives memorize sh, so they grew up disliking the culture. Well, he influenced me and instilled the idea of ‘understanding’ text, what the teachers alas the school should be teaching altogether. I felt like I defeated the matrix. I then studied the text, learnt it, understood it and wrote the answers on my own. Not so surprisingly, my marks in Hindi started decreasing. But it did feel better when I lost 5 marks now rather than losing 1 mark before. I now had that feeling of content and satisfaction that I wrote Hindi on my own. The character development and self realization were lost in translation when I told my parents, and since then I followed the liberal policy for all except one, Hindi.

 

Now now, this isn’t a post about my self-love journey with Hindi, which would be named hatred for Hindi. This post is about memorization and how we can never escape the wrath of storing matter in our brains. For 5 years, I went on avoiding memorizing (except for the love of my life) but soon life caught up with me. It is like; I went to a store and bought a shovel to dig my own grave. I dug up 6 feet and I’m now sitting inside it. The career I chose, CA (Chartered Accountancy), is ALL about memorization. Oh and I should definitely write about all the knives I’m stabbing myself with selecting this course. One day.

 

Anyways, now that I’m studying ca, I realized the weight of that skill. But there is a teeny tiny problem here. I forgot it.

 

I forgot how to remember. I don’t remember the tricks and tips I used for all my life. I do remember the ‘tricks’ like mnemonics and acronyms but I don’t remember ‘how’ to use them. The theory is in place but the application is missing. Or just misplaced. I used to be able to memorize a whole speech of 600 words in one night but now I can’t even remember the to-do tasks of the day. It is getting out of hand.

 

Before that, lemme just watch another 30 min video essay on YouTube.

 

Also when I opened YouTube in the middle of writing this, the first video that popped up was “how 3141 digits of pi fixed my memory” by Answer In Progress. HUGE coincidence. Love that video btw.

One of the techniques used was ‘memory palaces’.

                                                                                                                                             

I just got used to understanding and writing in my own words but it is not the solution all the time. In law, everything needs to be precise. Word to word precision is required. And for that, one should be able to memorize it. And remember my deal with it? I’m BAD AT IT.

 

The whole concept of memorization has been pulling my leg since I started my ca couching. I keep losing marks for the simplest answers. The tricky ones are easy once you have the conceptual knowledge but the essay type questions need a whole lot than just understanding. I am still learning what I somehow unlearnt. I still can’t believe how I unlearnt years of practice in just a matter of months. Kind of silly of me. So quirky.

Sorry.

 

 

This imbroglio is something I need to grapple with. If not, I’d forever get embargoed from my intrinsically formulated perfectionism and though it may not seem virulent, it is a game with the devil in the purgatory. I would rather go frantic than be reprimanded of inconstancy in the impalpable nebulous of being enervated.

 

 

That is all for today. I feel better after expressing my dilemma and stress-cause.

In my coming posts, I will be talking about my life (when do I not) so do not miss “the life of a teenager that is of no use to you at all.”

 

Thank you again for reading and reaching the end. Hope you reach the stars just like this. I love you already. Have a great October ahead!!!!!!!!!

 

Byee

 

Yours lovingly,

Rini.

 

 

 

TDD- ten day diary

Well I am just lost. Enjoy my posts. I will not stop posting though. I will post something or the other every ten days. Have a great month. Love you, byeee!!!

 

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