Just History: His Story.

In 7th grade (I think), my history teacher introduced the subject of history by dividing the History into two words: His Story. To make the class seem relatable and more exciting, like I am actually just reading a story? I have no idea. It didn't work.

It wasn't until about my junior year of high school that I didn't completely hate everything about the class. I always thought it was pointless to hear the same story every single year with only one or two details changed.

I am reading The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. In the book, there is a paragraph about history that inspired this post. (This has nothing to do with the actual story, so no worries- no spoilers if you intend on reading the book).

"I remember watching a television program once...I must have been seven or eight, too young to understand it. It was the sort of thing my mother liked to watch: historical and educational. She tried to explain to me afterwards, to tell me that the things in it had really happened, but to me it was only a story. I thought someone had made it up. I suppose all children think that, about any history before their own. If it's only a story, it becomes less frightening." -p. 144

Last year I finished my final history course. Ever. Unless I decided to change my major or take more history courses. As unlikely as that is, I have found a new appreciation for what history teaches us.

When I was younger, history was a boring story that I had to listen to every single year repeatedly. A story that I had to memorize pointless dates to, and vocabulary. History was just another English class. We were told these events were not fiction, that they actually happened. I told myself that these events had happened centuries before I was even conceived. That is what my teacher said, so it must be true, but I could not actually picture them happening. No matter how realistic the History Channel made it look.

Children don't mean to be disrespectful by complete lack of understanding regarding history. How can we even begin to fathom war upon war upon war? Why can't everyone just get along? The emotions do not register because everything is simple when we are children. Nothing is bigger than the bubbles we grow up in. And now we feel the repercussions of different events in history. Our generation's history is now being printed in textbooks. (So weird!)

History is weird.

Sorry. I just really enjoyed that quote from Atwood. For some reason it made me want to blab about nothing...