Honestly, I wanted to start this blog with a quote showing the beauty of history from the web, but nothing caught my eye. So I will make my own:
“History is like reading a fiction of gruesome events, hopeful endings, daring characters, but then you have to keep reminding yourself that it’s all real, and humanity is truly this way.”
That’s how I view history, it’s interesting, but it’s like people's obsession with true crime documentaries. It's similar to a trainwreck it's uncomfortable yet you cannot look away.
The more you read, watch, or listen about various historical events, you start to question why are humans the way they are? So many horrible things happened in the days of our Earth, but every action counteracts itself.
We tend to focus on gruesome historical events, but our history is also filled with delightful ones that were life-changing as well. For example on the day I’m writing this, June 11th, in 1963 the University of Alabama was desegregated. In 2023, personally, it has been a productive day. Though, on this same day The Six-Day War in 1967 ended with Arab loss, and as an Arab I don’t consider this a good day.
My love for history started in grade 8, with the Renaissance unit. I loved everything about it, and I loved all the artists, architecture, and the Enlightenment. Also, it was the only time I heard good things discussed about my religion and culture, since we discussed the golden age of Islam, and learning about it made me proud. It’s nice hearing non-degrading things about my religion for once. I feel like that unit also started my love for old architecture, and my dream of going to Italy and going to Florence and Rome. My ideal vacation isn’t a sunny beach, but an old city with historical buildings and sites. I feel like there is nothing cooler than walking on the same tiles that a person walked on over a 1,000 years ago.
There was this unit about the Aztecs as well, and it was taught by a Mexican student teacher, and he was a true personality. He was such a fun, and lively teacher! We played trivia games, and one time he even brought authentic Mexican chocolate! It was really bitter, because the chocolate was so pure. I loved that unit as well.
In high school, we started learning more about the 20th century, oh boy this century was a lot. If you think about it, so many things have occurred that were life-changing. There was the rise and fall of the USSR, the world wars, the civil rights movements, our Canadian constitution was finalized, and our country was also reshaped with a new identity. There were also the decolonization movements across Asia and Africa, the Atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cold War, the Arab-Israeli wars, and so much more.
This information might not seem all that interesting for everybody, but for me, I just love it. It’s just so interesting, and I’ll never consider history as boring. I enjoy reading about all these climaxes and figuring out why they happened and how they affected the people around them, what happened after, and how it affected the world to this day. With your historical knowledge, it makes understanding our complex present a bit more simpler.
My siblings complained when we once went on a trip to the Royal Alberta Museum, and the only thing they found interesting was the gift shop. Though for me I read every description for all the displays and stared at the displays themselves for minutes, not just taking a quick glance like my siblings and moving on. Honestly, my parents acknowledged this about me, but I have a hunger to learn. My curiosity gets the best of me, and makes me explore all these different events. This is why I find museums the best, because they feed my hunger for knowledge. I think the ultimate museum is the British museum and just like Italy, it’s also my dream to go to London and to that museum, but also have some tea in a quaint British tea house!
It’s hard to convince someone who doesn’t find something interesting, the reason you find it interesting. Because if they’re anything like my sisters, they’ll just roll their eyes at me, and call me a nerd.
I don't need you to believe me, or find what I like interesting. I wrote this because I wanted to share my love for history.
