One can derive innumerable intellectual benefits from history, whether it be wisdom, technical knowledge, or personal fulfillment. Far from being a mere list of facts and dates, history contains the "source material" for nearly all of life's pursuits. Finally, I find that a knowledge of history is enriching and cathartic on a personal level.
On days when my personal troubles seem overwhelming, reading history always puts things back into perspective. Throughout time, my fellow human beings have already experienced similar passions, ambitions, sorrows, and triumphs in life. Of course, there is never a perfect parallel, since our environments are constantly evolving. Yet the realization that one is part of a legacy of human experience assures me that I have something to draw upon when faced with something new. I think this sentiment is part of the reason why nostalgia and legacy are so powerful. It appeals to the things that make us human in a wider scope, beyond the sum of just our present actions or statuses.
Whereas most other academic fields are concerned with deriving absolute rules and concrete principles, history makes no such assertions. History studies what has happened, and leaves its meaning up to the student and society. Part of this is because of the classic "history is written by the winners" cynicism, but it's also because the subject matter of history is not just time, but ultimately humanity. In this way history endorses a non-judgmental and truly diverse view of humanity that I fear is being lost as our world seems to grow more polarized by the day.
Well, those are some of the reasons why I have grown to deeply appreciate history. It strikes a balance between being abstract and realistic; appealing to the academic sense and the personal soul. Most of all, it, along with the rest of humanities, searches for and teaches us what it means to be human.
