Perception vs. Time

Time is the most valuable resource on the planet, but what exactly is it? Some think that time is an infinite line, with events occurring in a specific order that can't be altered. Others classify it as another dimension in and of itself. But I think that time is more like a line with occasional alterations of certain events in the past. Here's what I mean by that. Every time you recall a specific memory, it is comparable to going to the past and experiencing that memory. And the more you recall that memory, the more you "visit" it in the past. The more you revisit that memory, the more your perception of it changes. Eventually, your memory itself can be warped. 

In my choice-reading novel Educated by Tara Westover, we find Tara to be an unreliable narrator because she isn't sure which of her memories are real and which are fabricated. For example, she says, "My strongest memory is not a memory. It's something I imagined, then came to remember as if it had happened." Throughout the story we see Tara questioning her own narration multiple times because, throughout the years, her perception has changed.

Similarly, in "Recitatif", Twyla and Roberta experience the same thing: their perception of Maggie ended up being different. Twyla thought Maggie was white, while Roberta thought she was black. Twyla thought Maggie tripped and fell, while Roberta thought Twyla pushed her. In the end, they acknowledge that they may never know the truth about Maggie because the only evidence they have is their contrasting and biased memories. And what can you do if you can't trust your own mind?