As life goes through its beginnings and ends, there are undoubtedly changes that we see all throughout. We may say ‘hello’ and say ‘good-bye’ to many or we may move on to different settings. In a world that continues to shift, the role of documentation, in my opinion, becomes increasingly important as it becomes a means to store memories that we want to hold onto. This can be in terms of documenting memories we create through moments, places and people.
From my understanding, documentation can mean any form in which we capture or record pieces of our lives as it happens. Take, for example, photographing or video-recording moments or events from birthdays, milestones or at times even the most mundane parts of our lives. These are moments that we can look back at when we are able to document them, as well as capture emotion, innocence and youth displayed in either a still or moving frame that will be there as long as we keep them. With life constantly changing as it sails through ambiguous waters, capturing events or moments that we do not want to lose becomes increasingly valuable. Moreover, it can be an unpleasant feeling when you are the one to say “I wish I recorded that”, or something like “I wish I had my camera ready,” as the moment slowly gets put in time’s archives.
In terms of places, one can note that there are many that go through changes while being, for the most part, temporary. I remember when I was a kid, my father would take me to buy VCDs or compilations of children’s shows at a particular local shop around Horta e Costa that sold VCDs and DVDs. About 18 years later, I tried to look for the place again to reminisce and I was instead greeted by an empty shop riddled with a bevy of posters advertising its availability for rent. Over the years, I never took the time to make a personal documentation and reminisce on the some of the fondest memories that ignited my love for movies, putting it off until it was too late. Though only a small example in a city that has really developed over the years, moments like these somehow resemble scenes in the 2018 movie ‘Avengers: Infinity War’, only instead of a good chunk of the population and your favourite characters disappearing as Thanos snaps his fingers; it is certain places and even businesses that you love that “don’t feel so good” as they fade away.
In perhaps the most important part of documentation, consider moments of wishing you had the means to record something and the fact that many things are not permanent. We can come to a realisation that this also applies to people as they come and go. Documenting your time, moments and places you visit together leaves you something to remember them by. It saves a memory that one can look back at when you need to or when you miss them. This may be the most important part that we need to document, especially when they are people who played an important role in your life that you do not ever want to lose to time.
As life moves through its course and the world goes through its changes, documentation proves to be increasingly important to preserve the memories we create. The Beatles’ song “In my life” somehow makes me feel this the most when they sang:
“There are places I’ll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I’ve loved them all.”
If we want to keep and remember the memories that we create and cherish, we should document them. We never know if they will fade away.
Photos courtesy of Unsplash
