“What is your major?"

"History? That sounds awful!”

This is an interaction I have way too often. History is one of two majors I plan on studying in college. Why does this seem to be a problem? Well, when every college freshman plans to be a doctor or engineer, us history buffs are a minority. For some reason most people seem to be more into science and math related subjects in lieu of english and history. I have no problem being the minority-- because I love history.

History is more than events that happen a long time ago. Our past defines our present and our future. If the Americas were not colonized, we would not have the United States of America. Without the U.S.A., we would not have so many things we enjoy today like basketball, baseball, football, cheeseburgers, railroads, and a car. Not only does history pave the path for the future, but it helps us learn from mistakes. Our past teaches us how to better deal with issues like racial, religious, and gender sensitivity and discrimination. Every part of our history is crucial to improving our future, hence making the subject extremely vital to us all.

Many, also, think that history is concrete. Some say that history is boring because we already know what happened. In a general sense, yes. We do know what already happened, however, what people do not realize is that new developments within history are being made everyday. Professionals in historical fields do research on certain aspects of history (i.e. American, European, Global, etc.) and reveal new findings through undiscovered literature, structures, or materials that have been missing for many years.

Our high school history textbooks do not soak up any of these new developments because it would overcomplicate the subject matter. Most of the time, your history class is going to give you the broad view. You are wrong if you think everything you learned in one American history class means you know everything there is to know. Just like science, history is always evolving and changing.

Nothing I say is going to make anyone love history as much as I do, but I hope it gives people a new attitude. History plays such a pivotal role in everything we do which even includes science and math. Our mistakes, trials, and tribulations of the past have led us to wherever we are heading now, and we have history to thank for that. So next time you meet a history major, maybe you will think twice about telling them how much you hate history.