The Meaning of History

History can mean many things to different people. It can refer to a record of personal life experiences. It can simply be a "story" of one's grandparent's life. However, history in terms of our distant ancestors is a different story. History is the story of how our ancestors existed on every level. History is not only what is remembered or passed on through the generations by recordings or findings; but things and events that we will never know of. No matter how long ago or how much we do (or do not) know of our ancestors, everything that has happened makes an impact on how we live today, and this is why history matters so much.

I believe that history is the search for the truth. We have the need and desire to know about societies of the past not only out of curiosity but for survival and improvement. The fact that past events are often distorted makes it even more critical to find the truth. I know that this is one fact that turns some people off from reading about history-they believe that everything is a lie. However, history is more than the search for the truth. It is the search for who we really are, and a map to where we should be headed.

No matter where you live or how you were brought up, history matters. There are some people who would rather forget the past. It has been said by some that to recall the past is to live in the past, but this is not necessarily true. To recall history is a way of avoiding past mistakes. Our history should never be forgotten.

History's meaning does depend on who you are and where you were raised. In some households, children are taught to value their ancestry and culture (and possibly ignore the history of others). In some homes, parents do not stress the importance of history at all. In certain circles, the history we are taught in school is seen as a lie. I believe that in the United States, many of us see only American history as important, but the history of the world is just as important.

I believe that at some point, history did mean something different from my own definition. When I speak to my parents, it seems that since they were coming of age during the civil rights era, their views of history are different from my own. I think that the era they come from is a part of history that they are particularly passionate about. I believe that although your views of history depend on your upbringing, it depends more on your age and how significant you think the events of your time were.

Before people started to migrate from their places of origin, history had to have been limited to their own culture and ancestors. History reinvents itself every day that the earth rotates. Even when we do not realize that something has happened, history and it's meaning is always changing.