Touching history

There really are people living in every corner of this earth. At least this is how I felt in Sweden; a giant cold forest... Yet, we all have seemed to reach a pretty similar lifestyle. We all paint our houses, buy milk and eggs for breakfast, go to work/school, and shop at IKEA! lol.


And, there always has been so many people. In America it easy to forget what this world has been through. History isn't surrounding us, staring us in the face like it is in other, older countries. There are a lot of things I love about traveling; most I haven't found the words to express yet. But one of my favorites is truly touching history. I can't always fathom or believe what I am seeing. I'm not sure it's even real, but the feelings I have when I see them are very real. It's overwhelming.. Sometimes I look at history and all I see is the ugly. The sick things people have done to each other, the evil dictators, the bloody wars.. But there has been so much more; courage, strength, love, beauty, laughter... I recommend everyone read a personal memoir from the war to help make it real. I admire so many of these people that had the strength to stand up and say "This is wrong." I like to pretend that somewhere in my bloodline I have someone who made a difference. But who am I kidding, every person has an amazing story in one way or another, and on that note we all probably came from somebody who shot and killed other people. Hearing these stories causes me to call my character in examination. I like to believe I am a strong person. But would I stand up for what is right? Would I hide slaves/jews, would I risk my life to stand up for what I believe? Would I be brainwashed?

I hate every history class I've ever taken. Maybe I'd rather see it than read it. But what you can get from traveling is so much more than what you can read in a book. It's important to know where we came from to understand where we are now, and where we are capable of going. I love hearing the stories from the people themselves because there is so much passion, and really a lot of humor. It's funny to hear about what people have done; 18 hour fist fights, switching sides last minute when they realized they were going to lose, a ship that only sailed 30 mins before sinking into the sea, throwing people out of windows, breaking a clock for 100 years to get revenge. Hearing the real stories helps bring our ancestors to life for me. These stories make me laugh and inspire me.

Will write about my wonderful trip in greater detail later!