It's history, not pornography
"Why would you bother reading about that?"
That's what mum asked me when she saw me reading a history book about Denmark. Broad, basic stuff. Well, it might be basic, but it isn't something I know anything about.
It's this kind of thing that frustrates me. Yeah, it might not be about anything that's really relevant to my life, but on the other hand, it's something I don't really know anything about, and I find it really frustrating when my attempts to make up for the gaps in my knowledge are met with her looking down her nose at me.
I tried to explain to her - and tried to be patient while doing it - that I don't know anything about this subject. In school - by this I mean high school - the only thing I learned about Denmark was that it had been occupied in World War II. It was one sentence in a section of the textbook that we didn't even cover in class. That's it. And no, we didn't learn about the vikings, either (we actually didn't learn anything about history before, say, John Cabot's explorations at all, except for a very brief look at ancient Greece in grade 6).
So. That's why.
I'd understand better if it was more a question of "Why are you reading about Denmark in particular, what interests you about that subject" but that wasn't what she was asking. It was said in that "Why the hell would you waste your time with that" tone. She uses that a lot.
I'm just so sick of her acting like I should be ashamed of wanting to learn things that are not immediately relevant to my life. It isn't bad to want to learn things. It isn't bad to want to take a look at something that wasn't covered in school and try to find out something about it. And there's nothing wrong with trying to keep my mind active by learning new things. There isn't. I keep trying to tell myself that, at least. But it's hard to take it to heart when she acts like it's something "bad" that I shouldn't be doing.
I hate having to feel like I need to hide my books. It's history, not pornography. I'm not doing anything wrong.
That's what mum asked me when she saw me reading a history book about Denmark. Broad, basic stuff. Well, it might be basic, but it isn't something I know anything about.
It's this kind of thing that frustrates me. Yeah, it might not be about anything that's really relevant to my life, but on the other hand, it's something I don't really know anything about, and I find it really frustrating when my attempts to make up for the gaps in my knowledge are met with her looking down her nose at me.
I tried to explain to her - and tried to be patient while doing it - that I don't know anything about this subject. In school - by this I mean high school - the only thing I learned about Denmark was that it had been occupied in World War II. It was one sentence in a section of the textbook that we didn't even cover in class. That's it. And no, we didn't learn about the vikings, either (we actually didn't learn anything about history before, say, John Cabot's explorations at all, except for a very brief look at ancient Greece in grade 6).
So. That's why.
I'd understand better if it was more a question of "Why are you reading about Denmark in particular, what interests you about that subject" but that wasn't what she was asking. It was said in that "Why the hell would you waste your time with that" tone. She uses that a lot.
I'm just so sick of her acting like I should be ashamed of wanting to learn things that are not immediately relevant to my life. It isn't bad to want to learn things. It isn't bad to want to take a look at something that wasn't covered in school and try to find out something about it. And there's nothing wrong with trying to keep my mind active by learning new things. There isn't. I keep trying to tell myself that, at least. But it's hard to take it to heart when she acts like it's something "bad" that I shouldn't be doing.
I hate having to feel like I need to hide my books. It's history, not pornography. I'm not doing anything wrong.