I just watched Inside Out again tonight. That’s the first time I’ve seen the same movie twice in one week since Perks of Being a Wallflower in 2012. That movie I saw 3 times in a week because I kept bringing friends I loved it so much. In Inside Out there are memories that are a certain color depending on the type of memory it is. There are thousands of memories but the most important are called core memories. These key memories are the foundations of the ‘islands of personality’ because each memory started Riley on a path to that personality trait. It’s seriously so brilliant!
It got me thinking about my own life. What are my islands of personality? And also what are my core memories holding up those islands? You guys have been reading this blog for a while what would you say? I would be genuinely curious to hear what those are in your mind.
It’s easier to think of eras of my life vs one single memory that changed everything but I am sure those moments exist….Hmm. You know I was just thinking and in some ways Inside Out is the opposite of Up. Up is about a man coming to grip with his memories and moving in some way with his life. Inside Out is about creating those memories and what makes Riley into a full person ready for adventures.
I guess some of my core memories would be getting bullied at school, moving to Maryland, getting accepted into BYU, meeting my friend Emily, the death of my Grandpa and Lisa, my conversion experience when I was 14, my last day on my mission, quitting my job, my first open water race in 2011, last day of my first trip to Hawaii, my first panic attack, and another very tough moment I can’t really talk about. Those are the big ones.
As for my islands of personality, those have definitely changed over the years. There was a time when friendship would have been the most important and now it is less so simply because I have so few that are nearby and able to see regularly 😦 There has also been times when music was a bigger part of my life than it currently is. So at this point my islands of personality would be swimming, Mormon faith, youtube/blogging, family, loyalty. All of that is vitally important to who I am. I’d have more but there are only 5 in the movie so we’ll leave it at that.
What about you? What would your core memories be? What would your islands of personality be? Please share and go see Inside Out!
Rachel's Musings 
I haven’t seen this film yet, so I can only go off what you describe here. I probably have islands of personality for reading and nature, though I’m not sure about the core memories that spawned those. I do have particular memories linked to more secondary interests though; for example, my interest in dinosaurs began when I was 5 and got a book on prehistoric life. Some definite core memories would be when I was 11 and found out I had Asperger’s Syndrome (there’s another island of personality), and when I was 18 and left home for the first time to go to university.
Thanks for sharing those. I can see how those would be very impactful core memories. You make an interesting point about how there are kind of secondary core memories. Meaning the memory itself isn’t that life changing but what it led to did affect us. That’s very true. You will have to let me know what you think when you get to see it.
I was thinking about the movie After Life today. It has a similar theme about how life and memories. In that film you have to pick one memory from your life to take on to next. It’s great