History. You love it or you hate it. I completely understand if you cringe at the mention of history. I cringe at the mention of science or math. People just tend towards different types of things. I remember in 10th grade my mom recommended that I study history in college. I had not really given thought to college at that point other than I knew I wanted to go. When my mom brought up that I could study what I loved and make it into a profession I was hooked. Ever since that day I have intended to make history a permanent part of my life.
I am not so sure what exactly I want to do with my history major yet. Maybe I want to curate. I know it sounds silly but I get very emotional when I walk into museums. This past week I went to the Walter's Art Museum in Baltimore, MD. As I was looking at some Ancient Egyptian artifacts I was getting a little teary. My dad actually came over and asked if I was ok. Now I, not liking to be a softy, said it was allergies. I have no allergies whatsoever and he knows that so he let it slide.
Why was I so emotional around these objets? I was staring at a mummified cat. No I was not sad for the cat, I am a dignified dog lover. I was emotional because there were people a long long time ago that valued this cat enough to mummify it. Here I was in a museum staring at objects that people once loved. These were objects people interacted with. They didn't have to look at their personal objects from behind a glass plate. I wanted to interact with these objects just as those in the past had. Artifacts are parts of people's lives, and I want to be able to preserve that.
Teaching is not the route to go for me. I am not good with a group of kids. That is why it amazed me when I saw teachers taking students through the museums and explaining mummification to them. The kids were so excited to swallow up new knowledge. They were so excited, and it reminded me of myself when I was their age. I wanted to learn as much as possible. I read every little plaque in museums. I asked my parents an unbelievable amount of questions. The similarities between my past self and the children I saw at the museum mad me wonder about their future. Would one of them want to grow up and study history? I want to be a person who can make that possible for them. I want to preserve or collect artifacts so that people can appreciate them.
Overall I am a history major because I want to preserve the past. There is so much we as a people can learn from then past, a.k.a. not invading Russia in the winter. I want to help curious minds thrive. I want to answer questions. I want to show people the past. I want to share with people what I love. That is why I am a history major.
