Sorry for veering off-topic, but I've been wondering about my memory lately, and just how much worse it is than the average.
Stuff that you really want to remember sometimes gets lost for no apparent reason.
I used to be able to remember just about everything that I wanted but lately (now almost 45) that is getting noticeably harder.
Traumatic stuff is in a class of its own. Some people will never be able to get away from it, others have it suppressed to the point where it might as well not have happened.
My earliest memories are from probably extremely traumatic situations: Finding my mother's boyfriend dead from a heroin overdose in his bed (both were addicts) and watching an ambulance crew carry him out. Eating raw pasta when our mother had left us alone in the house for days. Being taken from our house by social workers (I remember parts of the drive from there in vivid detail). I was four or five at that time.
The funny thing is I don't remember how I felt at the time, but the scenes are etched in my memory.
Oh well, make of it what you want, it just came back to me when reading your post :)
At the same time I go to my college re-union every year, which is associated with a time when life became stable.
Wow.
You've faced a challenge in life that would destroy most people, and you overcame it. I can only wish that I have the same determination as you.
An addendum:
I can’t even remember college that clearly. More clearly than HS, but I can’t remember the names of most of my instructors. Where by “most” I mean all but one, and I only remember his name because he also became a friend.