In the last portfolio post, I indulged in six different historical lenses that can be applied while researching and analyzing history. These lenses proved to be important when studying history, as we achieved a deep and meaningful insight into a historical event. You may have assumed that history is solely a study of the past, but it is not. In this portfolio post, we will discover how other meanings of history apply to events, and we will use events from my personal life to do this. To catch up, here is the previous portfolio post on the topic of history.
Today, we will be looking into four different significant historical events in my own life. I will provide an account of each of these events through primary sources, and then interview a witness of one of the events. By comparing the witness testimony to my own interpretation of the event, we will analyze the similarities and differences between the two descriptions, and then assess what that means to our definition of history.
The four events I have chosen to represent consist of my birth, my first trip to Europe, leaving private school for public school, and finally the first provincial swimming championship I participated in. These events have all left an impact on me, and thus I think it is important to analyze them. Below is a scrap book I have created to represent these four events.
The first event we will focus on is my birth. Due to the fact that this event is my birth, I myself do not carry any memories from this even. After asking my family a few questions, I have learned a few things about the moments leading up to, and after my birth. By applying the historical thinking concepts we learned earlier, I can achieve a better understanding of my birth. Born on the afternoon of June 28th, 2000, my mother welcomed me to the world in a very painful way, child birth. The historical significance of this event is very miniscule on a large scale, but extraordinary to my parents. My birth completely changed and altered their lifestyles. Thus, my birth was a very significant event. The evidence of my birth is supported through my mothers account of it, photos of her pregnancy and after, and the fact that I am here writing this! My birth affected my parents life significantly as mentioned earlier, and changed the way they lived. The continuities that remained after my birth include the fact that both my parents still worked, yet they needed to get a babysitter to look after me. Next, lets take a look at my first trip to Europe.
I was six years old on my first trip to Europe. I went with my mother and father, and my very young sister. We stayed at my parents friends house in Paris, and spent our time sight seeing. I remember being incredibly bored throughout our time sight seeing, as I was a careless child who didn’t understand what was occurring. This event was historically significant to me personally, as it was one of the first overseas trips I took, and the first I can remember. I made great friendships with the children who lived where we stayed, with which I still have contact with today. The evidence of this event is captured through primary sources of photos from the trip, and the memories I have of it. This changed me, as I made new friends, but the continuity that remained was my confusion of the event. Before going, and after coming back, I had no idea why we were going to historical sights, and didn’t enjoy it. This has changed since then, as I would very much enjoy a trip like that today. This trip caused me to make new friends, and grow closer to my family though the time spent together.
Next, lets take a look at my transition from private school to public school. I attended Lions Gate Christian Academy for the first two years of my schooling life. I did not enjoy my time at this school, yet made great friends who I still have contact with today. After the first grade, my parents removed me from the school, and I went to Cove Cliff Elementary. This school was much more pleasant, and I felt I was in a welcoming, caring, and loving community. The teachers at my old school were strict, and unpleasant compared to the teachers I had at Cove Cliff. This event was extremely significant for me, as the people I met at Cove Cliff became my best friends. I see them every day, and have strong bonds with many of them. I was welcomed to a community that accepted me. The evidence of this event, like the others, reside in my memory and primary sources. Many things changed when I went to Cove Cliff, as I made new friends, met new teachers, and engaged in a better learning community. The continuity of this event resides in the fact that I continued to go to a school and learn. The switching of schools was caused by my disliking, and my parents disliking, of my old school. Cove Cliff brought me close with the people I am still very close with today.
Finally, let’s take a look at my first competitive swimming provincial championships. I was ten years old when I took part at this competition, and I remember being very nervous. I swam a few different events, and won gold in the relay. I swam for the lower mainland team relay, and we won by a significant amount. This was very significant, as it brought me a lot of confidence in my swimming abilities, grew my love for the sport, and was the first step to my journey in competitive swimming. The evidence for this event, like the rest, reside within the photos I have and the memories I have of the event. This swimming competition changed me, as I began to become more involved in the sport, made connections with people such as Brent Hayden a Canadian Olympic Medalling Swimmer, and made great memories. The continuities of this event include the fact that I continued swimming, and went to provincial championships multiple times after as well. This event was caused by a lot of hard work and dedication, and has lead to my love of the sport.
I interviewed my mother on her view on the event, and to compare both of our views on the event.
Her account of the event is relatively similar, yet is different as well. She focuses on the aspects of family, and the relative enjoyment of the event. I focus on the actual swimming, and the outcome of my events. This represents the differences in our perspective of the significance of the event. We have the same interoperation on the causes of the event, and the outcome of the hard work and dedication. In this post, we learned about the definition of history, and how different personal accounts of an event may vary. We assessed this through personal events, and focused on two different accounts on one event.