UC personal statement

UC Personal Statement

Prompt:  Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.

Vitam impedere vero

In my life, I have always believed in what I was told at school. Indeed, my parents always taught me that in order to succeed in life, I had to work hard: I learned to be attentive to what teachers were saying, to persevere, study, listen, and understand, but never to question the teacher's word, and their status as a symbol of wisdom and a spokesman for the truth. However, I’m sure we’ve all heard the famous proverb: "History is written by the victors".

I remember being seated in my history class last year when our teacher, a pure product of the system, told us that the French Revolution was a revolution by the people for the people, everywhere in France, standing for liberty and equality and against the tyranny of the king Louis XVI. … Of course, at that time I believed her, I mean, it was what I was told since I was a child! For me, the French Revolution was an event that every french citizen should be proud of. It was the event that gave birth to France and denying it would have been outrageous. Well, I was wrong. My interest for french history came after this episode, during the fall of 2018. I was stunned when I discovered the beauty of a motet from the Old Regime era, the Domine Salvum Fac Regem, thanks to a happy accident on Youtube. I remember wondering “What the heck?! How can a song be so good from an era that was so bad?” Boom. That’s when it all started. Ipso facto.

Since then, I never stopped documenting myself in order to find the truth. I listened to historians and watched videos on Youtube treating french history for HOURS, always from different sources to hear all points of view;  I explored and scrutinized a lot of books, and surfed the web searching for every bit of information that could be interesting or useful. All of that, in order to understand, to clear the misunderstandings, to have a different source of information other than my teachers, to win debates with my friends over historical topics, to make links from the past to the present, and more importantly, to understand where I’m from, who I am, and what my heritage is.

This quest of truth and identity makes me want to continue my research to higher levels: by going to museums, visiting historically famous places and going to lectures hosted by historians et cætera, et cætera…

I want to know the truth. I want to live.

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