The following column is an adapted version of an essay I submitted to National Public Radio’s “This I Believe” project. The topic is one that never goes out of style — history.
In school, I studied history along with the other basics. I did my English and math homework first, though. To me, they were less abstract. From my history text, I memorized names and dates. Catchy terms like ‘Boston Tea Party’ and ‘Sagebrush Rebellion’ lodged in my brain, but not necessarily with their stories and historical significance. As a young girl, my concerns gravitated around the here and now, not the “then.” I wanted to know what was for dinner, how late I could stay up, what the shy new boy thought of me, or when I could next drive my dad’s old Willy’s jeep — scrunching my nose and pulling the gear shift with all my might.
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