My memory is not reliable. I can remember my bus number from kindergarten, but I have trouble remembering if I locked the door this morning when I left my place. The calender app on my phone helps me not to lose my mind when it gets lost. I struggle to remember simple things, yet somehow I am pretty good at remembering to put events and important things in my calender to aid my slow memory. My doctors never seem too concerned about it, or anything really. They contribute my bad memory to poor vitamin absorption in my intestines. My inflamed and scarred intestines don't absorb nutrients like they should. Sometimes I hate my guts. Plus, I really don't think my doctors believe how bad my memory is.
Days of the week are foreign to me. Especially, if I have to recall which day an event took place. Was it yesterday or last week? What day was yesterday? When I meet new people, I text myself their name with a few facts I learned about them so that I can look it up before we talk again so it doesn't seem like I wasn't listening. I question things like did I unplug my straightener and did I plug in the crock pot that's supposed to be cooking my lunch? I don't know. School has definitely gotten more difficult since recovering from my big flare of 2012. Studying is a chore because memorizing is not a reliable option, so I make an effort to understand, learn and know the information.
I've caught myself with tooth paste on my toothbrush standing in my bathroom wondering what I was doing. It's sounds stupid and it is because I forgot I was about to brush my teeth. I've caught myself driving on the interstate, forgetting where I'm going and missing my exit and the next exits after that. I'm sure there are plenty other examples like this that aren't coming to mind. I'm thankful that when most of these episodes happen I'm the only one they affect. Occasionally, an episode happens and I end up looking like a total idiot. When I went to the testing center to take my exam this week, I had a momentary lapse and I couldn't remember which exam I was there to take. At the testing center, they swiped my student I.D., checked my calculator and then asked which class it was for to check me into my exam. The catch is that I have to tell them which exam I'm there to take. I spent the past three days studying for this exam and for the life of me I couldn't remember which class I was there to take the exam for. This caused suspicion that I was there to try to take an exam for someone else, so I had to provide proof that I was the person on my student I.D. I showed them my driver's licence and a credit card with my name on it. They were speechless that I didn't know which exam I was there to take. "Are you sure you're ready for this exam, ma'am?" After what seemed like an eternity of getting judgmental looks from the staff, it finally occurred to me that I was there to take ECO 3411 exam 1. As I walked to my assigned computer to take the exam I prayed that I knew the material better than I knew which class the exam was for.
