my earliest memory

i found this an extremely interesting topic to write about. when i started thinking about my earliest memory, it became very clear to me that i am not certain whether or not it is actually something i remember or if it is something that i have come to "remember" through family photographs, making me feel like i remember that time or that event. the truly earliest memory that i do remember is when i was in kindergarten and my mom came in for the half day of class and instructed the craft day. we decorated pine cones with glitter and paint, attached ribbons on the back and put jingle bells on the bottoms and made christmas ornaments. i don't know why this is my first memory, it wasn't even a incredibly significant event, but i do remember how cool i thought it was that my mom was "teaching" school to my friends and i. i think it is very hard to distinguish a real memory from something like a photograph that reminds you of something that you have done. i think thats why we take photographs in the first place. so that as we grow up, we don't forget all of the cool things that we have encountered, accomplished, the places we've been, the things we've seen, etc. the photograph is a powerful tool in how we remember things.