Class Assignment - Quickwrite - "American History" Historical Moments

I remember two historical moments that really had profound effects on me. The first one was the volcanic eruption in Iceland, and the second one was the marriage between Prince William and Kate Middleton. Although these are not political historical events, they have both taught me a lesson. As it happens, both happened while I was in Europe. During the time of the volcanic eruption, a lot of people in my school were on break. I remember on the day of the eruption, our television didn't really work. We used satellite TV at the time, so there was something in the air that affected the satellite. I checked the news on the internet, and found out that a volcano had erupted in Iceland. At first I didn't think it was much of a big deal, however, after a few days, I saw that there was actually a lot of effect. For example, normally, outside my house, I can see the airplanes take off everyday behind the hills. However, those days, I remember it being really quiet, without any airplanes at all. This obviously had a big effect on a lot of people. There were friends of mine stranded all across the world. I had a friend in Florida, another in Estonia, and another somewhere in Asia. At school, we made a map showing where everyone in the school was stranded at. Also, one of my mom's friends had to stay over at our house because her flight was cancelled. I remember then that one day (it happened to be a school trip day at the beach), I looked up to the sky, and I saw the first of the airplanes take off. It was really a surprise to me after a couple of weeks of not seeing airplanes at all. This event made me realize how puny humans really are. A volcanic eruption was enough to strand people all across the world. Imagine what would happen if a bigger volcano erupted!

The other event, the royal wedding, was obviously a big deal in my school, because we were a British school. Weeks leading up to the wedding, almost every single news channel was playing something about the story of Kate Middleton and Prince William. I now know the story of the two off by heart; I knew the exact process of their relationship, their ups and downs, etc. It is actually quite maddening. However, this joyous event also brought to light topics of anti-monarchy. On the internet, not only could I find news of the wedding, but also a lot of news of protests going on about the British government and royal family. For geography class, we had to write an essay about a specific topic of the royal wedding. I chose to write about the anti-monarchy topic. I think a lot of their arguments made sense. Why should people have to pay so much tax just to pay for the Queen to wear a different designer dress every time in public? A lot of people argue that it is a waste of money that the hard-working citizens are making, while the pro-monarchists defend by saying that it is a proud tradition. Many think it is an old-fashioned way of thinking that has to go. It is only bringing the British economy down and is pretty useless. Through the event, I learned a lot about what different people thought of the topic of the royal wedding. I am glad to have been here to experience such a grandiose event. Throughout the day of the wedding, the live BBC footage was playing in the auditorium, and I remember our science teacher showing us the live clip on his computer. Most of the girls were just looking out for Kate Middleton's dress.