Time

A friend of mine posted something on Facebook yesterday that got me thinking about how much time has elapsed.

I still remember the day when Pokemon first aired in the US.  Being in junior high, going to school with my Gameboy and a copy of Pokemon Red in hand, trading with my friends and trying to see who's Charizard was more bad ass.  It was a good time.

Then I think to nowadays.  While I've pretty much outgrown the simplicity of Pokemon, I've still kept up to speed on some of the news.  That original 150 has now grown to a whopping 649, with more coming with each new generation.  That number is mind-blowing.  I remember playing Red for hours trying to find and capture all 150.  With 649, it almost seems an impossible task to get every pokemon legitimately.  Yet I know there are people out there that do it.

That was only 15 years ago.  Going further back, I remember when Power Rangers first aired here.  I was in 3rd grade at that time, and now that series is coming up on it's 20th anniversary.  What about life events or world events?  There are people old enough now to dictate their memories that don't remember when the Challenger blew up, or the Oklahoma City bombings, or even something as recent as Y2K or 9/11.  What really makes me feel old is knowing that there are kids out there that have never had to play with cartridges.  Hell, some of them haven't even used CDs.  They've only known DVD and Blu-Ray and the lot.

I'm only 27...think about how much others have seen and remember that are much older.  Your grandparents probably remember when the moon landing happened.  You may even have someone in your family that remembers World War 2.  I believe there are even a few people that have broken that 100 year mark and can recall when the Titanic sank back in 1912.

Time is something everyone is bound by.  Whether you want it to or not, time is going to come and go. You will age.  You will experience something and then you will cache it into memory.  There will be times that go by too quickly, and others that seem like they take forever to pass.  Everyone will age, and everyone will eventually be subject to the limited amount of time of life we are given.

And as time goes by, recall those memories with a fresh and changed mind.  I remember all the times that my mother has scolded or punished me for stupid stuff I've done.  At the time, I hated her for it.  Now that I look back on it, I thank her for giving me limits and guidance to make me a better person.  I look back on my time in the Navy.  I remember being miserable every day, yet now that I look back, it was probably one of the best times of my life.  The freedom of the open sea, the experience of going to different countries, the times we had at that bars and arcades in Japan.

Even memories as far back as grade school.  I'll see kids nowadays and wonder if I was that annoying or naive or ignorant or dumb back when I was their age.  And a memory will pop up in my head from that time and I'll go "Yeah...I was that dumb."

Think back to all the things you've done in your life.  Think about all the people that will never be able to experience some of those things.  Or maybe, even think about some of the things you can never experience again.  If I could choose to relive a memory, it would be the first time I ever played Lunar: Silver Star Story or Final Fantasy VI or Final Fantasy VII.  The plot points in those games are so bound into my consciousness that I no longer can feel for the characters as much as I did back then.  I would love to have my memory of those games taken away, just so I can go through them again with that same bright eyed wonder and emotion I had when I first picked them up and played them.  The laughter, the tears, the anger, the triumph.

So, if you could relive one thing in your life exactly the way you experienced it the first time, what would it be?  A first love?  A book?  A video game like mine?  Say so in the comments below.