Natalie's Final Post

I really enjoyed reading this book, and although it was an easy read I thought that it had a lot of meaning and presented many interesting comments. The concept of memory and how how we remember it was especially interesting. I think what the book was saying was that our memories are many times fabricated by our minds. Although they may be based on real events they are affected by many different factors. What we remember is rarely what happens. One thing that affected Tony's memory was his mood. When he went to visit Veronicas family he thought that they were all being mean to him and poking fun at him, most of this stems from his own insecurities. Later on in his life he remembers this event vividly and remembers it slightly different. This different perspective completely changes his thoughts about that night and what occurred. Similarly, many times our memories are modified by ourselves and tend to be a edited version we tell other, and consequently ourselves. I have to admit that this is something I have done myself, and I think that people do this because they regret what happened and it's easier to remember something else. Another interesting concept was the idea that life happens to us, instead of us making life happens which to an extent I agree with. I also thought Tonys constant struggle about making his life reflect literature vs. choosing the safest option is something many people can relate too. I guess that now, at this age, I would want my life to reflect literature and is something I have thought about before. But I guess as you get older it get's easier to pick the "safe" option, which is sort of depressing.