The Tallest Man On Earth - The Wild Hunt (Live)

The Big Three & Their Legacy

Over the summer my brother, who's a total hipster (but refuses to admit it), gave me a bunch of new music, and I absolutely fell in love with an artist who goes by "The Tallest Man On Earth." Tallest Man's second album is called The Wild Hunt, and the song with the same name is my favorite piece he's released. The line that actually makes me salivate every time I hear it because it is just so good is, "And I plan to be forgotten when I'm gone."

Being the historian I am, that line has planted a little seed inside of my brain. And, I guess in some ways, that seed has grown into this blog post.

A pillar of my personal philosophy is that people from the past affect us every day of our lives. From Ray Kroc's empire on every street corner to the bigger things, like the laws set forth by the founding fathers, to the smaller things, like whoever decided my high schools colors would be green and gold. No matter if we recognize it or not, we see them everywhere we go. They may not be alive, but they're present. We somehow remember them, even if we never knew who they were.

I am now going to make a claim.

There are three people who have had the most monumental impact on the world. They will never be forgotten. They can never be forgotten as long as the human race exists. Period.

Jesus, Confucius, and Muhammad.

But my question is what would they say if they knew? How would they all react to know that they have, pretty much alone, changed the religion, and the art, and the architecture, and the family structures, and the philosophy, and the daily ritual, and the societal norms, and the food — and the everything — of the world forever?

Do people truly ever understand the impact they will have long after they die? How could Jesus have known that people all across the world would someday know the story of his birth? How could Confucius have known that China, Japan, Korea, and the entire east Asian region would, almost 3000 years after his death, still base their lives around his school of thought? How could Muhammad have known that almost 2 million people a year would retrace his steps to Mecca?

The answer is they couldn't have known. Obviously. But did they want to be remembered? Did they actually aim to change the world? Did it matter to them? Should we care that we (probably) will never be remembered in the same way that Jesus, or Confucius, or Muhammad are?

My personal view on creating a legacy for yourself is rather cynical and existential, so I won't bore you with the details. But I will say this: to The Tallest Man On Earth — I really do love that line.

< Histrophile >

"Average Zhou": The True Background

Due to popular disdain towards my utilization of a certain Chinese history pun in my very first post, I have decided to post this short blurb to give credit where credit is due. Back in my Freshman year, my World History teacher, Mr. Williams, made the pun "Average Zhou". Ergo (one of my all-time favorite words), that little joke I made is not mine. This is a shout-out to Mr. Williams -- You are a punny person, way punnier than me.

< Histrophile >

A Scottish Queen Who Knew How to Pick 'Em

Most people have a best friend when they're younger. And over the years, people tend to grow apart or make new friends, and those bonds can tear or splinter. I consider myself lucky when I say that I've had the same two best friends since I was a little kid. And I don't consider myself naive when I say that I truly believe we will remain best friends for the rest of our lives. Our bond is that strong.

Friendship is an interesting thing to talk about, because it is actually a culmination of things like affection, trust, respect, and even love. Throughout history, friendships have made and destroyed peoples careers, families, and even lives. There are so many good examples of friendships in history that have gone wrong and turned out with hate, and greed, and carnage that it can seem as though all the famous friendships end out bad. For example, think Henry II and Thomas Becket.

But my all-time favorite historical friendship (an odd classification, I know) is a five-way relationship (possibly a quintship?) that didn't end in murder or the stealing of a crown . Mary Queen of Scots had four friends — all named Mary, as well — who lived with her throughout her childhood in France during the mid-1500s. The four other Mary's — Mary Seton, Mary Fleming, Mary Livingston, and Mary Beaton — were chosen to be the Queen Mary's companions when she was very young for rather political reasons. However, they grew to be an extremely tight-knit group. Their relationship far surpassed a mini-Queen and her mini-ladies-in-waiting; they were best friends. And they continued to be close for the rest of their lives, even after most of them got married and became Duchesses and Countesses. Mary Seton even stayed with Mary (the Queen) while she was imprisoned, all the way until Queen Mary's execution.

My first question, as a girl who has been though Middle School, is how could all five girls get along so well? Some may say that it is obvious this friendship has been wrongly glorified; they didn't really like each other, the Four Marys were all jealous of the Queen Mary, etc. But all the historical evidence points to the five of them actually being ridiculously close friends. Which begs me to ask the question: are there some friendships that are just that extraordinary? And am I a part of one of those myself?

I'm seventeen, and I'm a senior. Ergo, I'm going to college next year. My two best friends and I are not applying to any of the same schools. Not one. We've already had a few, oddly emotional conversations about leaving each other next year. Being the optimist I am, I'm placating my anxiety by choosing to believe that there are extraordinary friendships, and that I have one. Going to college is a terrifying experience for the most psychologically stable of us — the classes, the parties, the people, the professors, the homework, the papers, the roommates, the laundry. But what most people struggle with the most, like my friends and me, is leaving behind the support system you have been carefully crafting since Kindergarten and before. Leaving behind the people you know. The people you love. But, over all else, we fear losing touch, being out of sight and out of mind.

But honestly, if Mary Queen of Scots and her Four Marys could do it in the 16th century, we should be able to stay connected in the age of Facebook and texting. Right...?

< Histrophile >