To Clear Your Cache

About once a week at work I stumble upon some digital glitch in our branded online ecosystem. Sometimes our homepage reverts back to a previous campaign; a link doesn't work the way it should; the same vulgar remark keeps showing it's ugly face on the Facebook Connect enabled part of our website; or the ghost of failed campaigns past continues to haunt the wallpaper on our leased online properties. When these things and a host of other digital dilemmas occur, I call the Agency. They are like the treasure trove of digital answers. But before they unlock the key to the more substantial explanations, their go-to response for everything is, "Clear your cache, erase your cookies, and hit refresh."

First of all, when I started to work for my organization in the realm of digital media, marketing and communications, I had never heard of caches or cookies. And I definitely had never heard of clearing or erasing these items. The only Cache I could think of was the 40-something-female-targeted store in Monroeville Mall where my best friend, Nicole, surprisingly found her red strapless prom dress. And cookies were of course the delectable little piece of goodness that I too frequently over-consume.

After a month or so and 100s of "clearing your cache, erase your cookies" directions later, I gained familiarity with these terms and learned exactly what they meant and how to do them. In layman's terms, you are erasing your browsing history and starting with a clean slate. When you clear your cache and erase your cookies, your IP address is no longer imprinted throughout the virtual world, and you can make a fresh start without stigma, stereotype, or targeted social ad campaign.

At first, I hated doing this. I liked my digital past. I liked when my friendly Safari browser knew exactly where I was going to turn next and was equipped with the password to get me there. We were in sync - my keyboarding, his predictions. It was comfortable, familiar and safe. I hated losing our tried and true relationship even though we started to develop glitches here and there.

After clearing my cache though, I started to realize the benefit of a clean slate. The refreshed digital landscape was suddenly more vibrant, interactive and colorful. It was an all new environment to play in, and it was beautiful. No ghosts of campaigns past, just updated content and creative.

This week I was thinking about the "clear your cache" process and how it directly applies to my personal life. In essence, when I packed up and moved to Naperville, started a new job, and made a geographic commitment to the boyfriend, I was hitting refresh. I was clearing the cache of Pittsburgh where my friends, family and neighbors could predict my every move, and erasing the somewhat dysfunctional cookies associated with my post-collegiate years spent there. Being equipped with a clean browser this year has been enlightening, adventurous, and AMAZING.

Chicago from the boat

However, when I went back to Pittsburgh recently, my metaphorical IP address got the chance to revisit my browsing history. The people and places that make up so much of who I am resurfaced and brought me back to a spot where I didn't need to remember or make up new passwords. Memories of St. Edmund's, the Pittsburgh Golf Club, Calvary Camp, and other childhood haunts resurfaced and brought the kind of retrospective laughter that makes your stomach hurt. While sharing parallel histories with other East Enders, I felt like I was with the people that really knew me. We had bonds that only Calvary Campers who have played Evening Competition could have. The cache that Pittsburgh represents, and all the dance costumes, tap shoes, gym clothes, Chapel uniforms, 6X dresses, ski suits, and misjudgments in make-up that go along with it, are in a way sealed in Steel-town, encrypted in a language that only a select few can understand.

St. Edmund's Academy ... our alma mater true!

Calvary Camp Staff, 1997

When I got back to Naperville - back to the office - back to the boyfriend - Calvary Camp seemed a million memories away again. And it got me thinking about timing, personal caches, new starts, and whether it works better to be with someone that shares the awkwardness of your youth, or with someone that doesn't know how bizarre you were as a child. (Or just gets hints of it here and there.)

After sitting on this thought for a week, I came to the conclusion that your past is just as important as your future; that communicating your past in a new relationship is essential; and that you are still going to run into glitches with a refreshed browser after a couple campaigns or milestones.

Clearing your cache and erasing your cookies might be the only solution on your computer, and for some it seems like a great alternative to cure a misguided personal life. But I believe if you're going to hit refresh, you should still keep your cache close-by. Those memories make up a large part of who you are, and communicating the laughter and love associated with them to your significant other, will enrich your bond.

At the same time though, I have learned that you can't live in the past - that the moments you share now will bring the same gut-wrenching laughter in five years that you experience when you reminisce about your childhood. And the memories you've yet to make will offer all new landscapes of wonder and excitement.

So ... Here's to walks down memory lane.

And a future where you don't need any roads! 

Lo.