His Story...

History, we can confidently assert, is useful in the sense that art and music, poetry and flowers, religion and philosophy are useful. Without it -- as with these -- life would be poorer and meaner; without it we should be denied some of those intellectual and moral experiences which give meaning and richness to life. Surely it is no accident that the study of history has been the solace of many of the noblest minds of every generation.

- Henry Steele Commage-

Thanks Valkyrie.

Valkyrie. This movie was an out-and-about typical high-budget Hollywood film. An A-lister as the lead actor. Lots of suspense. Thrilling trailers. Based on a true story about an attempted assassination on Fuhrer Hitler. You know the drill.

But that is besides the point.

What then, is MY POINT?

Valkyrie served as the little but significant reminder to me of how much I loved History.

I could read books and articles of historical facts for hours and hours. I could go on and on and on. Page after page. Word after word. When I was doing my A-Levels, I took History and that was when I really fell in love with it all.

I read a lot then. At first, I read because I had to. And then, I read because I simply loved it.

From Napolean Bonaparte to the Bolshevik Revolution. From the Potsdam Conference to the Warsaw Pact. From the Sino-Soviet split to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Hugely. Mind-opening. Man.

Then I took Law. Now, no regrets on that. Oh never. Reading law gives me intensity and zeal, of which I absolutely adore. But taking up law means I have less time for History. And it is something I want to change. I want to continue History-ing because the sentiment, the affection and the lessons that these events and turns of fate brought obout.

I cannot even begin to explain.

As a law student, by the way, it is important that I have sufficient understanding and appreciation for History as these two are very much coherent and banded.

To quote Sir Walter Scott, "A lawyer without history or literature is a mechanic, a mere working mason; if he possesses some knowledge of these, he may venture to call himself an architect."

I wonder now why I have once said I hated History. I think it was during my Sejarah days.

I loved it. And yet I hated it. And I blame the system in which Sejarah is taught for my "hatred" towards it. It was always the textbook huh? The textbook and what it says. There was no room for further reading. No room for our own opinions. No room for our thoughts. No room. At all.

List the "lima faktor yang mempengaruhi...." et cetera.

DEAD. BORING. OUR. MINDS. WERE. NOT. ALLOWED. TO. THINK.

Well now, I am not tied up anymore. I can read anything I want. And entitled to my opinions.

Hundreds and thousands if not millions books and articles are out there. Calling my name....JARYN! JARYN! :)

Oh sure, I feel obliged to end this post with a third quote, of which History is beautifully interpreted by Maya Angelou.

"History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again."