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History: Why do we hate it?

I officially declared my history major this week and so far I have received fairly negative reactions to it. I'm not surprised really, because I never thought I would become a history major until I started getting interested in history through my English classes. The reason I never though I would become a history major is because I hated history in elementary school. I remember my mom trying to help me study for tests and I just could not figure it out. I was excellent at understanding concepts, but I wasn't good a memorizing dates and I have never been good at multiple choice tests. That was pretty much what history was like all through high school. I did enjoy my history classes in high school though, I was a big fan of Government even though most people hated it.

It old my mom I declared my history major this week and she said "You didn't get that from me!" It's true, my mom is not a fan of history because it is boring. She says she doesn't care about what has happened already, but instead she's more concerned with what is going on now. I kind of wish I was more like that sometimes, because I think my interest in history is related to my obsession with reanalyzing my own past. I told a guy I work with about my history paper as well and he asked what class it was for. When I said American history he said, "Eh, I hate American history." I just laughed but... how could you hate American history! It's like the best reality tv show ever!

My favorite thing about the history classes I've taken so far is the many mediums my professors use to convey information. I've read comic books, novels, autobiographies, short stories, and textbooks and also listened to music, watched movies, and looked at propaganda posters and artwork form the time period. This has given me a greater interest in learning on my own through different mediums. I've actually purchased nonfiction books about historical movements, something I'd never considered before, and bought documentaries and movies to watch in my spare time. I mean, what is up with that?

So why do we hate history? I think it all goes back to what I said at the beginning of this post. It's a preconceived idea that history is boring, when really history is anything but. I'm not very interested in war itself, but the movements that surround wars are fascinating and usual more interesting than the war itself. So do you hate history? Or do you love it? Why do you think you feel the way you do about history?

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History: Why do we hate it? + TIME