What History Means To Me

2000 Honorable Mentions

Middle School

E. McKenzie Buttrey
Sponsoring Teacher: C. Buttrey
Tennessee
"I have always loved stories. It does not matter if it is a story I am reading in a book, hearing from my Great-Grandma, seeing at a movie theater, or experiencing as it happens on the news, I become a part of it and it becomes a part of me."

C. Haas
Sponsoring Teacher: Mr. Krocheski
Iowa
"If I could time travel, I would go back to the Revolutionary War period, when we were a new country struggling for our independence from the British. I want to experience first hand the passion the people of that time felt for their cause."

M. R. Miller
Sponsoring Teacher: S. Luellen
Oklahoma
"World War II united our country in a way that it had never been united before. What history means to me is the hope that maybe our generation can once again bring our country together in support of our freedom, and just as important, each other."

L. Singer
Sponsoring Teacher: C. Sale
California
"History shapes me by touching my heart, stirring my soul, and inspiring my thoughts. I love autobiographies because they magically connect me to the sights, sounds, energy, and emotions of the past."

High School

A. Corman
Sponsoring Teacher: Mrs. McAmis
South Carolina
"I'll use the past as a sort of security blanket. When life becomes complex, and I feel as though my world is plummeting into despair, I go and search for a person that went through so much more than me and survived."

A. Guha
Sponsoring Teacher: S. Williams
Illinois
"History molds my life and gets me prepared for what is ahead. When I have to make important decisions in my life, I can look to the past and gain insight on what another person might have done in my place."

J. Humphries
Sponsoring Teacher: B. Eardley
Texas
"The plot of history is constantly unfolding and revealing new twists, the entire world plays deuteragonist to fiendish Time, and the future looks at least mildly interesting from where I'm standing. Keep studying the past, humanity; it's good for you."

J. Shih
Sponsoring Teacher: F. Krinsky
New York
"My ancestors do not have to be great explorers or world leaders to make it worthwhile for me to find out about my past. My grandfather's past is not only his, but mine as well. I am adding to the newest part of my family's story as I live."