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Michael P. Marpaung's avatar

I've had the historic bug for as long as I can remember. As a little kid, it was natural history (like dinosaurs). As I grew up, it moved on to Roman history, and then I got obsessed with the Byzantine Empire. And it went on. Looking back, I think it was because of all the time I was reading the Bible together with my parents and brothers. I'm pretty sure the Old Testament is my first exposure to history as an actually interesting subject rather than this boring thing that every kid seems to dread.

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Gina Hogan Edwards's avatar

Thanks for the nudge to contemplate this. Coincidentally, I was thinking just the other day about Mr. Herbert, my ninth-grade history teacher. He wasn't nearly so interesting as yours! But even in his gruffness and bland delivery, it was in his class that I became fascinated with Pompeii, the Incan Empire, and more. I believe too, that I was influenced by my father's interest in history. Even though my curiosity hadn't peeked yet, at the age of eight, I saw his fascination with Russian history, watched him take several trips there and across Europe, and heard the stories when he retuned. Come to think of it, that was probably the spark for two things: interests in history AND travel.

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