History has always appealed to me on so many levels. Time to me is simply a human concept, one that makes this absurd universe a bit more tangible. I see it an a realm that connects us all, yet we make sense of it through clocks. So when given the prompt of picking an event that occurred through history, I quickly decided on the crimes of humanity against the Native Americans. I wanted to reach through time, hear the stories and understand their perspective. It's a deeply complicated series of event, and I wanted to dive deeply into it's torn roots. The main framework of my question asked if what took place against the Native American's were a genocide. I approached this on a cultural, physical and spiritual level. It broke my heart.
I find myself to be a very sensitive human being to the injustices of the universe. Thus, this project crushed my soul in so many ways. Researching the atrocities that were brought upon this select group of people became too much at many points. I felt like being an American, a human even, somehow linked my hands to these events. It honestly killed me. My eyes got lost in the hazy screen of my laptop as I read and reread stories of pain, stories from children who walked thousands of miles or were sent to schools where their roots were stolen from them. And that was the most challenging part. Reading words upon words of injustice and knowing I could not reach through the screen and save them. I know that this may just be a grade for some people, that joining honors looks good on their college resume, but diving into things like these is one of the constant waves in my life. There were many changes I made throughout the course of my project. One that I found to be most substantial was my perspective. When I entered this project, I was filled with a teenage angst towards the concept. I saw it in a dark, twisted light and could not comprehend any positivity. With the assistance of my guru (Ashley) I was able to change the lens through which I saw history. The events were tragic, there is absolutely no denying that. Now it's time for me to provide some words of wisdom to future Junior Honors. Forget letters, first of all. The point of honors is not for you to receive an A, it's not to impress future colleges, it's for personal growth. In this project, you are given the profound opportunity to dive through history, little one. That is something truly amazing. In many other countries, children would envy our right to knowledge, don't abuse it.
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May 2016
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