TA - seven months

May 17, 2005

History in the Making

I've lived the majority of my life unable to see clearly. Literally. In high school I was too insecure to wear the glasses I was given. When I turned 18 I got my driver's license and wore my glasses in the car. But the chalkboard was still fuzzy.

In March 2004, I put on contact lenses for the first time. Actually, the first time I put them on they didn't really stay on. I pushed and I pushed into my eye with one finger and lifted my eyelid with another and eventually the lenses stuck. When they stuck, the world turned into an animated fractal. My perspective shifted.

My mother died three days after my birth. Last Father's Day my dad died in his sleep. I have no frame of reference for the feelings I've had in the past year. Undoubtedly, since Father's Day, my perspective has shifted further.

I like to travel; traveling is truth. You could argue that a lie is truth in that it is a fact of life, but most lies are unnecessary, and that entire topic is a tangent. What I'm eloquently building up to is that Europe is opening my eyes when I open my eyes in Europe. By that I mean that now I understand that Europe exists, that foreign languages are more than required classes, and that's there's no denying that history happened: the evidence is everywhere. Only now am I beginning to understand how environments shape people and how people can shape their environments.

It's also easier for me to comprehend here, surrounded by centuries-old architecture and traditions, that our present lives are history in the making. With that thought follows the question of how history books will describe our generation. 20 years from today, will I have wanted my perspective to shift even further?

6 > post a comment

but what if history doesn't describe us at all? what if we fade away, dreams of an unremembered past? we try so hard to make our mark on the world so that we won't be forgotten, but in the end, does it really matter? if i were to disappear tomorrow, and no one remembered me, would my life still have been worth living? -SC

Anonymous
May 17, 2005 7:06 PM

SC,

questions answered with run-on question:

history books may not describe us accurately, but are you living to make your mark on the world or to enjoy what you do while making your mark on the world?

tevan

tevan
May 19, 2005 2:18 PM

I do so enjoy you young philosophers. 'Young' and 'Philosopher'... truly those two words don't belong in the same sentence.
Tevan, you mention 20 years as a span of time for a perspective shift. In 20 years, today will seem like yesterday.
I have a quote taped to my monitor, (not the lizard. I already have a feel for that wit of yours), that keeps me humble.
"Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Soon bears us all away;
We fly forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the op'ning day."

Kathleen
May 26, 2005 2:51 PM

kathleen,

when today is yesterday, it will have been enough time for a perspective shift; it shifts slightly everyday.

how about:

"Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Soon bears us all its way;
We fly remembered, as a dream
Alive since op'ning day."

tevan

tevan
May 26, 2005 3:54 PM

You write the poem of youth. I read the poem of experience. I bid you print them off, put them away, and read them when you are sixty. Sixty is still young by today's standards, yet I dare say you will agree with my poem.
Alas, I won't be alive for you to tell me who was right...
fondly,
kathleen

Kathleen
May 26, 2005 5:17 PM

kathleen,

I do wonder if it's less a matter of age and more a matter of perspective, or if it's age affecting perspective -- is that a personal choice?

tevan

tevan
June 03, 2005 8:23 AM