Filled with Memories

Many pieces of media leave their footprint on your memory — some for the achievements they make, some for what they inspire within you, and some for reasons not at all connected to the media itself. There are times when the hint of a song will bring to mind a person and a feeling. There are times when a scene just embodies who I was during a period of time long passed. There are times when media will remind you of the scenario and person you experienced it with.

When “Life of Brian” popped onto my television screen, I was immediately shot back to November 1994. For those sadly out of the know, this is an episode from My So-Called Life — the one where Brian Krakow gets to deliver the voiceover, and everyone is getting ready for a big dance.

I was in a hotel room at the time, with a friend of mine, desperately in need for my MSCL fix. I’d had the worst high school day on record, and then set off to look at a college with my family. We watched the episode and it washed away some of the aggravation. Yeah, Brian was a spastic, dumb, lust-filled teen. Rayanne was, well, Rayanne. Angela had her regular craziness with Jordan. But Ricky… He got his perfect school dance moment.

It was silly, but sweet, and it gave me hope. Sure, that hope was dashed with the rest of my senior year, but it still gave me a little hope in people, and that no matter what crap you’re dealing with today, what monotony might be dragging you down, or people, there will, at some point, be one of those perfect moments to help wash away the memory of the bad.

I watched it there, with my friend, and thought of my luck not in the crappy week that led to this night, but in that singular moment with my friend. Every time I watch that final scene, I can almost feel her with me, even though I haven’t seen her in over a decade, and she’s on the other side of the world.

N, I still keep my eye out for you, and am so very proud of all that you have accomplished, you superstar.

To the rest of you: when was the last time some media transported you back to another time, and another life?