7 Ways Being a History Lover Changes You Forever

I often think that loving history kind of gives us important skills for the real world. Don't you think? 

Here are seven ways I think a love of history changes us. 

Let me know what you think! 

Photo by gilber franco on Unsplash


You can smell bias a mile off
So your friend passes on a bit of juicy gossip and swears that it must be true because a friend of a friend of a cousin called Doris told her. Straight away, you're like: yeah, but Doris had beef with this person two years ago, surely this is all a bit hearsay-ish too and wait, why is she saying this in the first place, and why now? You'll be weighing up evidence right there and then without even knowing you're doing it and that's kind of like some sort of superpower, right? 

You'll never be able to enjoy a historical movie ever again
Yeah. You know that scene where Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I wander through ribbons of linen sizing each other up? Never happened. Robin Hood? Nope, he didn't have an American accent. Thirteenth century clothes in a sixteenth-century setting? Puh-lease. The more you learn, the more will start to annoy you and you'll be forever from now frowning into your popcorn. 

Everything will make sense
When you see riots and protests on television, you will know more of the background that led to that moment. When you see a swastika spray-painted on a city wall, you'll know why that's not a good thing. And when your friend shrugs and says they could always fix the economy by printing more money for everyone to share, you'll know that won't work because Henry VIII tried that in 1542 and messed up the country. 

It gives you a sense of awe
There is something seriously magical about holding a coin that a fifteenth-century person traded to buy food to feed their family. You just look at it, imagining it in their hands, a kind of invisible link between the two of you, between hundreds of years. You'll go to a stately home or palace and feel the energy in the building like a kind of low vibration in the walls. You can imagine kings and queens and the arguments and scheming that must have happened there. Feeling in love with the past and linking to the evidence that's left behind just puts you on another level of awe, magic and curiosity. Am I right? 

You always have something to do
Bored? You're never bored when you love history. Where's that book you haven't read yet? Or download a documentary to watch. Scroll for a while on social media and learn something new. Bake something from the olden days. Check out your favourite blog, or find a new one to follow. Plan a trip to somewhere you haven't been yet. 

You'll be great at debating
History is full of different people's opinions. People have literally said that Elizabeth I was a man based on what they see as evidence for that. And of course others disagree, because they have evidence to the contrary. History makes you good at arguing, because it becomes less about emotions and more about bullet points of evidence and why that's important to the whole debate. 

It will follow you everywhere you go
Out shopping and notice out of the corner of your eye a crumbly old wall with a tiny wooden door? That'll get you wanting to find out what it is. And when your family is planning a day out or a holiday, you'll be scanning Google Maps to see if there are any historical places you can visit while you're there. 

Anyone else relate? Surely it's not just me. 
Let me know what you think in the comments below! 

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Comments

  1. I agree with everything you said! I'm listening to a podcast on the French Revolution now and see many parallels to events today.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! People often say that we can learn from history but I often think it just goes round in ever-rotating circles.

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