What History Means To Me

2003 Winning Essay, Middle School

I had always seen history through the eyes of a child. The past to me was nothing more than a story, as innocent and one-dimensional as the fairy tales that once lulled me to sleep; oblivious, naïve, assured that good had triumphed over evil, and nothing more was said of it. There were no twists and variables, no laws, no hidden stories. To me, "happily ever after" had said it all. Now, as I grow older, I realize the simplicity I had once imagined had in fact never existed. There were twists, there were hidden stories, and they were inevitable. History went beyond "happily ever after" with its effects, its repercussions. History had significance. It was not a tale, but a substantial novel, incoherent and infinite. Page after page more unfolds, events and characters, their motives and emotions unreachable. Though some fail to see it, every man is a character subliminally intertwined with those of the past and present.

One of the many things that have influenced me to draw this conclusion were the events of September 11. As the events occurred, I couldn't help but feel a connection. I was seated in front of the television 8:15 that evening, listening to the president's words of pride and determination, assuring the nation that although the towers had fallen, we have not. These words were very similar to the words spoken by a former president during that attack on Pearl Harbor. I, seated in front of the television, was very much like the children of 1941, seated with their families, listening to the radio, devastated, full of questions, and yet still full of hope. See the connection yet? They say history repeats itself. I say history is a novel, often needing to refer to previous pages as the story continues.

It wasn't just events that have connected us to the past, but emotions and knowledge as well. I had felt grief when grave adversity struck; so did the people of New York when news had spread that the Titanic on its maiden voyage had met its untimely end, and the people along with it. However, this has taught us that nothing should be declared "unsinkable," no matter how confident people seem to be. I had felt excitement when we reached new milestones in society; so did freedom fighters and civil rights activists when apartheid in South Africa had ended. This has taught us to set aside our differences and that we only become weaker when we are separated, much like a book with scattered pages, without a spine to keep it together, the spine of course, being tolerance, and respect for people's cultures. I had seen the world evolve into a stronger sense of reality and fear, as did the Europeans when Hitler's armies were drawing closer and closer into total domination. Looking back on it, we the people had let it happen, and never again would we make that mistake.

The beauty of it all is we never lose these connections we establish. It's rarely difficult to find history. I distinguish it all around me. It needn't be a war, or a breakthrough to become history. To me, history could be a photograph, stained, old and wrinkled, preserving a single moment, and proof of our accomplishments and mistakes. It could be a rock on a beach, being worn away by tumultuous waves, showing the passage of time, as well as the disappearance of such things as slavery and racism. It could even be the eyes of my grandparents, who have seen more truth in history that any textbook could reveal.

John W. Gardner once said, "History never looks like history when you are living through it." Nothing could be further from the truth. It is by living history that I have come to realize that the events I have witnessed would one day be in the textbooks of future generations. I realized that it made me a part of history. I was a spectator, but a character of history nonetheless, connected to the characters that have long since passed. We will never know who they truly were or what they meant, whether hero or villain, or perhaps just a mere witness, testifying their stories.

by S. Echaluce
New Jersey
Sponsoring teacher: G. Brewster