One Year: A Reflection

Flickr/DeviantArt/Instagram description: A lot in my life has changed since the pandemic started. Many good things have happened. Many bad things have happened. And while it's very easy to laugh and joke about how we're "living through history", we forget that 1) we live through history all the time, pandemic or not; and 2) you need to LEARN from history, not just relish in it.

One thing that frustrates me most, as a former history student, is the world's complete ignorance or lack of care for history. History's importance in shaping the future is rarely emphasized in schools, often traded for rote memorization and boring lectures instead. Facts and content are favoured over meaning and understanding. Classes are overly generalized and utterly impersonal, maddeningly in love with five-paragraph essays that repeat the thesis five times throughout.

It makes me mad! History is supposed to be invigorating, inspiring, and insightful! It's not about memorizing a bunch of facts; facts and content are meaningless if students don't get the "point" of what they're learning. *Why* do we learn history? What the hell is the point?

We learn history because history shaped the present and will shape the future. History explains our current plight, the events happening in the world, and all of the foolish and dumb mistakes that our ancestors have made. Learning history gives us a chance to break that cycle when we see a present situation and are able to link it back to similar events from the past. Learning history should make us aware of the shortcomings of our knowledge and the perspectives that were never told. History should make us uncomfortable. If it doesn't, you don't understand it.

So many events over the past year had direct ties to or were eerily similar to events in the past. Let's not repeat the same mistakes from history. Remember that our present actions can shape the future\u2014for better or for worse. Think about how you want people in the future you remember you. (And can we stop teaching the five-paragraph method? It's so dumb.)

Date Taken: Jan 21, 2021, 8:53:00 PM EST

Camera: Nikon D700

Lens: Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm f/2.8D

Shutter Speed: 1/2 sec (0.5 sec)

Aperture: f/2.8

ISO Speed: 320

Focal Length: 35mm

Flash: Off, did not fire