Eternal Sunshine… I would like a spotless mind.

What if you could go back and erase all the bad memories? All the pain. What if you could remove the memories that made you cringe, the embarrasing moments, the akward times? What would you erase?

If you did erase the past, what would keep you from making those same mistakes again?

There are some memories that could be erased and I don’t think that I would ever miss them. I wouldn’t miss the humiliating times I got punched in the face when I was in 5th and 7th grades. I wouldn’t miss all those times I got called Michael Jackson, Prince, and Faggot for having a high voice. I doubt that I would miss having my face zipped up in my jacket by the bully in my fourth grade class. I just now realized that if my entire school experience could be erased from about 4th through the 8th grade- I would miss very little- it sucked.

I think that it would be nice to have certain people totally erased from your life. If my real dad were erased from my memory would I even miss him? Every time I think about him I feel a small pang of hurt and loss and a smidgen of resentment and I keep thinking that I have let that go- but I haven't- my goodness, I haven't.

That memory where my girlfriend broke up with me because she found out I was part black- yeah, I could do without that memory.

But what I realize now at 28- it is those bad memories that have made me the person that I am today. Each memory has chiseled away at me, molded and shaped me, and made me a better man- yes, better- not bitter, most of the bitterness is gone- most of it.

I just finished watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and it was very different, but good. I always enjoy Jim Carey movies, and I like this movie because it is not your every day story- its just different- not a movie for everyone, but good. Did I say that already? The movie made me think of life and how it is so different for each of us. Each one of us has our own set of problems, needs, dreams, pains- we are all so different, but so much the same.

This is my favorite quote from the movie, but there are lots of good lines- lots of them.

How happy is the blameless Vestal's lot
The world forgetting, by the world forgot
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind
Each prayer accepted, and each wish resigned.

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And Eternal Sunshine has the song Follow the Day by Polyphonic Spree which I really love.