What if: Life of memory is the only chance of meaning?

In class this week we started learning about the principles and ideas of modernism and postmodernism.  Since we are currently living in postmodern times, I find it very interesting to see how differently the two ideas contrast.  I was especially intrigues by the differences of the views about memory.  The current, or postmodern idea of memory is that we are withing memory; memory is not within us.  The modern view is that life of memory is the only chance of meaning.  I didn't really understand what that meant at first, so I looked into it further.

I realized that the meaning of the modern philosophy for memory is that in order to have a meaning to our lives, we must remember all of our life.  I found this very interesting.  So, what if life of memory is the only chance of meaning?

Well if that is true, then does that mean since I cannot remember the first years of my life, then those years had no significance at all?  How could that be?  Those are the years when I first planted my feet on the ground and walked forward.  I surely find that to have some sort of meaning.  Those first years, I made great friends, some of whom I cannot remember their names for the life of me.  I find myself struggling to remember times in elementary school, and middle school.  I learned plenty of valuable information, and made many friends and decisions, all of them shaping who I am today.  So I guess I don't understand why it is that if i don't remember something, it would have no meaning or significance at all.

If this were truly the case, that a life of memory is the only chance of meaning, then I'm positive that plenty of my life would be wasted, simply because I don't have the ability to remember it all.