As a countdown to my 30th birthday on March 18, I’ve committed to offering 30 people, things and experiences I want to celebrate from the last 30 years. Grab a piece of cake and enjoy reading!
Like most formal education, mine required knowledge of a multitude of useless facts. This showed up most significantly in history classes, in which we’d often memorize dates and names, as opposed to wrestle with motivation, ethics or patterns. To some degree, the way history was (and must still be) taught sucked the life out of me. I knew there were stories that needed to be told, ideas that needed to be explored and events that needed new eyes. I just could never see how the memorization of facts added value to my life or the contribution I might make to the world.
And so I made this known.
The movie Amistad had recently been released and after seeing it I decided – in my infinite teenaged wisdom – that my fellow students and I should be learning history in these kinds of ways. In ways that made it real, made it stick. That got at the issues.
So a good friend and I went to the school board president to plead this very case. Nada. And if I’d had a hair’s less passion I might have stopped there. Instead, I took it upon myself to draft a letter to THE ENTIRE FACULTY asserting my perspective and placing it in each teacher’s mailbox.
I might not cringe today at my assuredly bold move had I not come across this letter a few years ago at my dad’s house. I remembered this event rather positively and indeed, underneath the hyperbole existed some very valuable points. But what I wrote was patronizing. Condescending. It was painful to read.
So today I’m celebrating the hindsight that allows us to see our former selves in new ways – whether it be with pride or humiliation. And the fact that maturity breeds choice, as in “I can now generally state my opinion without degrading other people, departments or institutions.” I don’t believe hindsight is 20/20, but I believe it’s enough that we get the chance to see ourselves anew.
Tags: celebration, change, communication, story
