Do you remember how you met your best friend? How about the best sleepover you’ve ever had? Or maybe your elementary school years? No matter how hard I try, I can’t remember most events in my life.
My issue isn’t that I can’t remember what I had for breakfast; it’s that can’t remember most of my life. I can’t remember my trip to Disneyworld when I was six. I can’t remember living in Washington D.C. when I was five years old and seeing all the incredible museums there. I can’t remember when my sister was born. I can’t even remember who I sat next to in math last year.
I never thought it was that much of an issue until I really wanted to remember things like concerts and events. I started taking pictures of everything, but there’s only so many SD cards I can keep together, and sometimes, it’s just insensitive to take a photo. Although the pictures help, I can’t remember moments that others hold so dearly to their hearts.
In 6th grade I decided to be a vegetarian for various personal reasons. I didn’t know much about nutrients and proteins and I lacked both of these once I regulated my diet. Eventually, my grades were lacking and I noticed severe memory loss. I knew something was wrong but I just assumed It would all pass and it was just some effects of moving recently.
Flash forward to 7th grade and nothing had changed; my grades were getting even worse. My mom did some research on what was going on and quickly got all the nutrients I wasn’t getting. An essential vitamin that many vegans and vegetarians lack is vitamin B12 and it contributes to lethargy, fatigue, weakness and most importantly, memory loss. Essentially, B12 is necessary for a healthy brain and nervous system. Most foods that contain the healthy amount of B12 are various meats and shellfish, two things that I did not eat a lot of in the beginning. Other fortified foods were available but I never knew I had a problem.
My mom made sure I had protein bars and B12 vitamins that would last me forever. We thought the issue was all fixed. My grades got back up to their potential and I thought everything was okay. I hoped my memory would slowly start coming back but it never did. It turns out that the long period of time with minimal B12 vitamins meant long term memory loss.
To this day, I can’t remember most things. But that isn’t the only issue. Most likely, there is permanent damage to my nervous system. I get the pins and needles feeling almost every day because of this B12 deficiency. I wish I had read up on what vitamins I needed to take as a vegetarian. All the trips up north to see family and movies with my friends are lost to me. I still am extremely wary of places that I can’t take photos in like some museums and concerts. I feel like I shouldn’t go on trips or go to expensive concerts. I won’t remember them in the long run, it’s not worth it. I wish I could still remember all these things like friends and family do. I wish this didn’t affect me daily but there’s no signs of it ever leaving.
– By Madison Clark
