Awareness is a qualia. Yes, like color, taste, and the rest.
First, there were only particles experiencing their own existence.
Second, there was information processing, and the unit processing the information was conscious as a unit.
Third, the information was from sensory input, and its processing resulted in activity that helped the physical unit.
Eventually, the complexity of the information processing systems, the complexity of the interactions of these systems, and the complexity of the feedback loops became so great that the felt experience of the conscious unit is that of awareness. This qualia is of a different nature than things like color and taste, because the nature of the information processing and feedback loops is different nature than the nature of sensory input.
Awareness of memories is the reason we have our sense of Self.