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I’ve come to learn and research quite abit around memory in my scientific life (neuroscientist by training here!). I know how unreliable and fleeting memories can be which I think is just a guarantee of life- that you will not have your memories forever. To try and capture my own memories, I’ve been on a continual journey of trying to document my travels. Certainly, the appearance of social media has helped us to use different mediums to document our travels eg. blogging or visual documentation aka Instagram and Facebook albums.

Journaling: I have journaled on most of my travels. Booking a new trip for me actually also means finding a new notebook just for that trip. I’ve found that the Muji notebooks are actually really great as they are thin (which means that I have a good chance of finishing it- who else hates unfinished notebooks?!), come in a variety of sizes and they are light. I have an entry for every single day of my trip and sometimes they are written all at once after 3 days on the trip due to time! What I did, where I went, what I ate and my general running thoughts that day.

Ticket stubs: I also collect some ticket stubs, flight stubs, cool looking cards/papers and even soap wrappers that I will stick into the journal after the trip and writing part is all done. Call me old fashioned but I love looking back at all of these and how cool are ticket stubs in a different language?

Souvenirs: I’m not so much of a souvenir “collector” but am always on the lookout for something that might catch my desires. I have been on many trips where I have come back empty handed but that’s ok! I’ve come to the stage in my life where I only want amazing pieces that I love and not just heaps of knick-knacks that I will have to store.

Pictures: This is an area of improvement for me. I need to get out of the habit of taking pictures on my phone and use my camera instead. I have files sitting on a usb or hard-drive (somewhere) and need to do more justice to them! I have a photo album where I print the “highlights” but have not updated that album for the past 2 or so years. I would love to frame some one day when I have my home.

Anniversary: A group of friends and I had for 10 years post trip (every year) come together for a dinner to rekindle those memories. The restaurant was also the same cuisine (but we tried a new one each time). Since then, life has gotten in the way but that was such a great way to keep the trip alive while we had the chance!

What are some ways that you keep your memories alive? Do you have any great anniversary celebrations? Do you also journal? How do you display your photos? I’d love to know.