[NF] Earliest memories

[Ruby Tuesday]

I have a theory that many if not most NF's have incredible long-term memories: longer, fuller, and clearer that average. Do you think this is true?

Also, I've always been fascinated by people's 'first' or 'earliest' memories, and have collected many of them over the years. Some people don't remember anything from before they were 5 or 6, or in a few cases even 8. That astonishes me. My earliest memory is, as far as I can work out, from when I was 2. Nothing traumatic, very pedestrian really, but very clear. (Lying in my parents bed trying to see shapes in ceiling cracks the way you can in clouds, before being scooped up and carried out). And you?

 

[PeaceBaby]

Hmmm I guess I do have a lot of specific memories prior to age 5. My brother is an NT and he claims to remember an event from the womb though and my mother confirmed it many years ago.

One of my earliest would be when I fell and needed stitches, age 3. I remember what I was wearing, driving to the hospital, I can recollect my mother's face when she saw my face and more ...

Don't know if it would be an NF thing or not really. Many of my memories do centre around emotions though; they're the most vivid ones for me.

 

[StormySunshine]

I have a theory that many if not most NF's have incredible long-term memories: longer, fuller, and clearer that average. Do you think this is true?

I've often wondered the same thing too, since I also have a very long memory. The earliest memory that I have a near exact date for was when I was two. My mom was knitting Christmas stockings for my brother, father, and myself, and she asked me what picture I wanted on the stocking. I told her I wanted a snowman. This happened when I was about two years, eight months old.

I also have several random memories from when I was younger than that. There are two in particular that I believe one or the other is my earliest. With the first it was night, and my parents were watching Magnum P.I. My mom had made salad for us for dinner, and I wanted some bacon bits on mine. Based on the dark paneled room, I believe this memory is from my early two's or late one's, since I know it was in a different house before the Christmas stocking memory.

With the other memory, I was sitting in a highchair in a kitchen. My dad had just made chili, and he was giving me some. I have no idea when exactly this was, but since I was in a highchair I know it was fairly early on, and I have no sense of my brother in this memory like I do the other two (he's a 16 months younger than I am). This may be because he was not born yet, or more likely a baby yet, and in another room with my mom, so not part of the memory.

I have many memories from when I was three. They're very rich, vibrant memories.

Something I was wondering...does anyone else have some memories that may be considered a bit disturbing now that you're older, but at the time when you are very small would have been normal? For example, I remember clearly my mom openly breastfeeding my sister (a disturbing image now that I'm older), and another memory of my brother and I touching our tongues because it felt so weird (again, I was very little).

 

[Requeim]

Earliest memory: 6 years old, getting top of my finger cut off and sown back on eventually (nasty scar now though)

 

[INTP]

I got a infp friend who cant remember few things only from about age of 5 and cant remember clearly enything before age of 10 or 11.

Im not a nf, but ill reply enyway. My earliest memory is when i just learned to walk without help. Maybe because it was bit tramatic one. I got my tongue stuck on streetlight in winter, i can still clearly remeber exactly what streetlight it was, even tho i moved out of the neighbourhood at age of two. Enyway i got very vivid memories from the age of 3-4 and after, nothing traumatic or enything like that. I can even remember one dream i had when i was 3 years old and i remember it as clearly as i would have had that dream last night.

 

[Domino]

I can remember back to 3 1/2 or 4. It freaks my parents out.

 

[PeaceBaby]

Interestingly, neither of my kids seem to remember anything from those early years (< age 5). And to think I took them to the playground almost every day and to all kinds of educationally-stimulating places, to amusement parks and other fun places too and barely a single memory made! LOL!

 

[StormySunshine]

I got a infp friend who cant remember few things only from about age of 5 and cant remember clearly enything before age of 10 or 11.

Im not a nf, but ill reply enyway. My earliest memory is when i just learned to walk without help. Maybe because it was bit tramatic one. I got my tongue stuck on streetlight in winter, i can still clearly remeber exactly what streetlight it was, even tho i moved out of the neighbourhood at age of two. Enyway i got very vivid memories from the age of 3-4 and after, nothing traumatic or enything like that. I can even remember one dream i had when i was 3 years old and i remember it as clearly as i would have had that dream last night.

Maybe it's more of an N thing than an NF, or maybe it doesn't have to do with personality type. I'd like to hear what other non-NF's have to say.

 

[scortia]

Sorry, my first memory is from when I was 3 or so. I'm pretty good remembering a few random things from 5 up after that.

Dunno about your theory, I have a friend who claims to remember being born and she's an SF.

 

[OrangeAppled]

Age 2 1/2 - I remember my mom praying with my sister and me in the living room before we went on visitation with my dad, shortly after my parents divorced. I remember quite a lot from 3 onward, relatively speaking.

 

[Usehername]

I have a theory that many if not most NF's have incredible long-term memories: longer, fuller, and clearer that average. Do you think this is true?
?

I know an ENFP who can't remember 9/10 (no exaggeration) of the anecdotes I relate from our shared high school experiences, most of which he was the starring character. He is not a drug user.

One time on grad retreat in the middle of nowhere in January (-40C night) he snuck out using bedsheets with my then-boyfriend to come visit us in the middle of the night on the lower level at the retreat centre, and he wandered off for an hour to run with the wolves or something. ISTJ boyfriend could not figure out where he went and he had my walkie-talkies and wasn't answering; we were fearful of him freezing to death in the woods, but he was having fun on his own. The guy lives in an alternate universe.

 

[Charmed Justice]

My earliest memories are around age 2.5. I am very much aware of the emotions that I was having at the time and can still smell certain smells, and see certain things in my mind. For instance, we used to live in Boston when I was that age. I remember riding the subway one night and my mother giving me a chap stick that smelled like butterscotch. It's one of my most vivid memories from that time. I remember that we were sitting in the very last car and looking out the window into the dark tunnel that trailed behind us.

I remember laying in the bed with my parents and watching Cosby and Johnny Carson. My mother and I would drink warm milk and sometimes she'd give me ginger bread cookies. She would bring one of those giant fans and place it close to my bedroom doorway because I'd get hot at night. One of the most calming experiences for me to this day is to hear a fan at night.

At the same time, my memory of other times can be rather shallow. I have an INF friend who fortunately remembers most of everything from high school for me-and high school wasn't too long ago. I also can have a terrible time remembering the details of things that have just recently occurred. From what I gather, I remember things that had an emotional impact on me better than anything else, particularly events from about age 15 and prior.

 

[OrangeAppled]

I know an ENFP who can't remember 9/10 (no exaggeration) of the anecdotes I relate from our shared high school experiences, most of which he was the starring character. He is not a drug user.

One time on grad retreat in the middle of nowhere in January (-40C night) he snuck out using bedsheets with my then-boyfriend to come visit us in the middle of the night on the lower level at the retreat centre, and he wandered off for an hour to run with the wolves or something. ISTJ boyfriend could not figure out where he went and he had my walkie-talkies and wasn't answering them. The guy lives in an alternate universe.

I know several delusional ENFPs. They have a unique way of remembering things that did not happen and not remembering things that really did happen....

 

[metaphours]

Age 2: Crawling out of my crib somehow, and climbing into bed with my older sister, who was 6 at the time.
Strangest thing is, I remember it in 3rd person... Maybe it was all a dream?

 

[iwakar]

I have memories that date back to 3y.o. thanks to the verification by my parents. My mother thinks it's nuts. I chalked it up to a rocky divorce and trauma=memory. But who knows, maybe it's type relevant? On a general day-to-day basis, my Si is crap. But I can remember how I felt during memories and provide general color impressions of scenes, even if I can't recall physical details.

 

[Fidelia]

2 years old riding the train, sleeping on the bunks there, also riding in a swan shaped pedal boat, the clothes I had at the time and which ones I liked or disliked.

 

[INTP]

Strangest thing is, I remember it in 3rd person... Maybe it was all a dream?

I remember all my memories(that include me in the picture) from 3rd person view. Would be nice to hear why is that, if someone knows.

 

[shimsham]

I have a theory that many if not most NF's have incredible long-term memories: longer, fuller, and clearer that average.

I've always suffered from the opposite problem, I have a horrible memory for details and can't recall large swaths of my childhood. My earliest memories that I know are true ones are from when I was 3 1/2 or so, but that is probably because they are anchored to a very traumatic emotional event. Otherwise, most of my childhood memories are fairly vague and without a definite "time stamp."

 

[shimsham]

On a general day-to-day basis, my Si is crap. But I can remember how I felt during memories and provide general color impressions of scenes, even if I can't recall physical details.

This is very true for me as well.

 

[OrangeAppled]

I remember all my memories(that include me in the picture) from 3rd person view. Would be nice to hear why is that, if someone knows.

So do I...and this piques my curiosity also....