You have to pick your passions

@ElicBxn (64169)
United States
February 14, 2008 8:09pm CST
I'm putting this in history because that's where the conversation started that prompted this discussion. The roommate picked up a book called "The Other Boleyn Girl." She handed to to me & I said I saw that there was a movie coming out by that name. When she encouraged me to read it, I told her that I wasn't interested. "But its Henry the VIII," she said. "Its too late for me," I replied. Why is it too late? Well, anything after the fall of the Roman Empire in Europe is too late for me. Oh, that's not to say that I don't love medievil castles with the best of us, but I'm just not interested if it is historically so late. On the other hand, the older the better, or at least the less known, so that the Anazasi culture in the Americas is of great interest to me, tho techinily its medievil in time frame. I told her that you have to pick your passions, mine just happen to be OLD history. Now, she loves Egyptology, but also does the late middle ages. And I'm not unversed in the time frame, after all, they do hit it when they do world history, it just doesn't do anything for me. On the other hand, I love to look a patterns in history. So, I can see today the reasons for the conflict in Eastern Europe that has been masked for the last 50 years by the Communist control, in some ways it has been holding the fire back so that when it was released, it turned into the bonfire of death we saw in the last decade. This doesn't even approch any of my other interests, science, science fiction, cats, etc. I'm just using this history reference as an example of something very specific that I have, that I have chosen to limit my interests in. I have taken a LOT of history back in my college days, I have read books since then, but mostly in my interest area of older stuff. But, as Mary Pearl Williams, former judge in Travis County, Texas once told me, when the whole deal with George Wallace and the desegregation of the schools was on the news. "This is history in the making." So, even tho I was a pretty young kid at the time, I sat down & watched the news event as it unfolded. I have viewed news as history ever since. So, do you have passions you pick? Do you understand why you have chosen them? Have you ever really thought/considered the question before?
2 people like this
3 responses
• United States
15 Feb 08
Whew What a post my Friend. I am not so sure that I have actually picked my passions. More so my passions have picked me. I for one adore history in all its time frames. But for me I look for the romance, the culture, the religions, the art of the day. I think I was born knowing what was going to drive my passion. From childhood I have built on those things that brought me pleasure. Does that make sense? My tastes are eclectic to say the least.
2 people like this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
15 Feb 08
I have to agree. I never cared for recent history, until I started seeing the patterns in it, and honestly that took a few history classes to bring to light. The culture is a big draw, and the religions and art are expressions of the culture. Romance.... Well, I freely admit I'm not terrible romantic, some kind of freak female I think. I know as a child I could've cared LESS about history, it was only when I was told that something on TV was history in the making I kind of felt an import that I'd never felt before. News was just boring adult stuff before that. Really, it continued to be - well, except for the space ship launchs.... I guess I still feel most of it is boring stuff, and since I didn't want to grow up, it must still be adult stuff I'm not much interested in - well, I do like to know what the weather will be...LOL
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
15 Feb 08
I was never a clothes gal. A sturdy pair of jeans & I was decent.... And WEAR that get up? Probably why S.C.A. holds NO interest to me. I'd rather wear a 14 ft scarf.... My dad was also into history/politics. I just felt contempt for any history before 500 years ago - THAT'S not OLD.... I can get some where close to my prefered dates with European infulences in San Antonio at the missions. I remember feeling a small thrill when I was stepping on a stone step that had been worn nearly flat in the middle by centuries of feet at Hampton Court in England.
• United States
15 Feb 08
Well ,I am more like your roomate. I Love English history especially the Tudor era.I have always liked history more than science. I don't care why the earth is the way it is. Or how things work. I rather hear about history and do a few algebra programs.I could never get into science when I was in school and Nothing has changed.
1 person likes this
• United States
16 Feb 08
I agree. I have respect for others interests too, especially if they aren't my interests. I am sorry to hear about your learning difficulties.That must have been frustrating.I think that's what happen with me ans science. I never got it. It didn't help that I could care less about it in the first place.I guess the thing that makes me like the rules of algebra helped me learn the rules of French grammar.It is strange. I may not know the meaning of the word but I could conjugate it.And that's ironic because I can't spell English.Thank G-d for spell check!
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
17 Feb 08
I can't really spell either. The 2 things that have helped me the most with spelling is the Latin I took in high school and the history of the English Language I took in college. I always liked science, I like to know how/why things are the way they are. Well, and it helps to know some science to write science fiction....
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
15 Feb 08
One of my favorite profs actual specialities in college was Tudor England, but I had him for Middle and Near East and Far East History. He probably could've succeeded in making me like the subject, but in my opinion too much is known to make me happy. I'd've loved to been an archelogist if I had thought my health (even back in college) was up to it. On the other hand, I hadn't learn to recognize my affinity for patterns back then, that was something I picked up on later. I am a math dunce. Well, actually I have a language learning disablity that nobody recognized back when I was in school. I'm sure it has some fancy name, but the minute a letter gets stuck in a math problem I start going to peices. And I can't learn a foregn language, heck, I can barely do English grammer, my grasp of it is more instinctual than learned (I know when its really wrong) and I can't spell. I have learned to respect other people's interest, even if I just can't get into their interests... "oh, you like "I love lucy" and want to do an indepth psycological study of the show... that's nice...."
1 person likes this
• Australia
23 Feb 08
I like most areas of history, particularly clothing, pottery etc. I have chosen my passions because they appeal to me, work with who I am and that I am good at. I like to try new things, but if I don't like them, then I leave well alone.
1 person likes this
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
24 Feb 08
And I know people that think history started when they were born. their passions are American Idol (which I absolutely HATE) or things like that. I'm not just talking history, I'm talking Passion!