Hello, my name is Liam Szymanski (he/him). I am a sophomore at Temple University. My major is Secondary Education, more specifically Social Studies.
I was born in Delaware County but moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania at a very young age. Lancaster is where I spent most of my life. I moved to Philadelphia in August of 2019, more specifically East Falls. Philadelphia is quite different than Lancaster! In high school, I did a work-study with my German teacher and I was able to assist in his German 1 class. This gave me an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. I was “on the fence” about teaching for a while, however feeling that satisfaction has made me certain that teaching is what I am meant to do.
The answer to the question, “What is history?” is complex. An easy answer would be, “a record of human history”. However, I believe that history has more of a deeper meaning. History is why we speak certain languages, why we have different types of government, why we live where we live and why believe in different ideas. History influences almost every aspect of our daily lives.
I am fascinated with history because I am fascinated with life. The human experience in which we all take part is amazing. When I am on the train into the city, I ponder about why we ride trains, why we work in these massive cities and why these cities are located where they are. When I read the news, I love to make comparisons to events of the past, in order to make sense of this chaotic world. History satisfies my need to discover, yet also serves as a reassurance. A reassurance that humans of dealt with greater tragedies than the ones in which we face.