By stepping into someone else’s shoes, events may be seen in a different light. While interviewing my grandfather, I was able to be transported into a separate world. I was able to peek inside the life of a Mexican immigrant traveling to America to pursue his dream. I was able to fully appreciate and understand the events that took place before I was born by receiving a second opinion from someone who experienced those events first hand. My perception of history has been eternally altered because I now obtain a rich appreciation for the history that came before me, I have acquired a broader understanding of historical events, and I have seen history through a completely different pair of eyes as well.I have never been a student that was enthralled by history. I never felt a strong necessity to dive into the depths of what occurred before my time. However, that mindset has been abolished. My grandfather is one who has been through incredibly tough times, yet brought himself back up to the top. By observing how much history affected someone’s daily life, I feel as though I now have a greater eagerness to learn more about what occurred in the United States before the day I was born. From growing up in deep poverty on a street in Mexico, to being employed at a gigantic business such as Johnson and Johnson, it was a captivating experience to see someone that I am so dearly close to completely change his life by immigrating to this great nation. Previously, I seldom gave much thought to how much events took a toll on those living in this country. After hearing my grandfather’s experience, through the impeachment of President Clinton, to the tragic incident on September 11th, 2001, it came to my awareness how much these events do impact one and one’s family’s everyday lives. Consequently, I was enriched with an appreciation that I could not have gained from any other experience.
Studying historical events in a mandatory history class is one thing, while...