A Walk with History

The summer before my junior year, I had the opportunity to become a student in Hillsdale College’s Winston Churchill and World War II high school summer study and travel course. I first heard about the program from family and friends, and having an interest in Hillsdale and a lifelong love for history, I applied, was accepted, and eagerly awaited the trip for over a year. It was an experience that brought history to life for me in a brand new way.

We spent our first few days at Hillsdale College, undertaking a rigorous exploration of World War II and an examination of the life of Winston Churchill. I remember looking at a quiz (yes, it is a college class for credit, after all), my heart leaping with both fear and joy as I marked English and French cities to which I would soon be traveling myself. Having read my father’s twenty-five-volume encyclopedia of World War II twice, our coming trip seemed like not just a vacation, but a live dive into history.

After completing a few days at the College, we shipped off to England. The first place we toured was Runnymede, the spot where the Magna Carta was signed. I envisioned the nobles, and the frustrated king, forced to sign a document that would be instrumental in not just English rights, but the American founding. We then adventured to London and Oxford, cities which date back to the Roman Empire. I remember visiting Trafalgar Square, in honor of Admiral Nelson; Westminster Abbey, site of the coronation of dozens of monarchs; and a small café in the corner of Oxford in which J.R.R. Tolkien and the Inklings would meet. Finally, we had the privilege of visiting Chartwell, Churchill’s private estate, in addition to the famous Oxford mess hall in which Harry Potter was filmed.

After visiting England, we journeyed to France, a land rich with its own stories. The first stop was Normandy. Although we visited magnificent cliffs and sun-dusted D-Day beaches (on one of which we enjoyed a playful game of tag), the most striking place we adventured was the American cemetery. I walked alone around the hedgerows, moved almost to tears as I viewed thousands of crosses, each one symbolizing a life ended far too young, a heroic American. After northern France, we journeyed inland to Mont St. Michel, a gorgeous, castle-like monastery, centered in the middle of a lake. We were fortunate enough to visit on a beautiful day, so the view I received from the top both awed me and forced me to contemplate my own place in history. The next destination was Versailles, a splendid palace of gold where I recollected back to the kingship of Louis XVI, the “Sun King”. The final stop was Paris, the city of love. In what I consider to be the best day of my life, I visited the Louvre, the famous art museum in which tens of thousands of great works of art are held, experienced a boat ride down the Seine, and ate Nutella pizza (which comes with my recommendation) at a small French restaurant. That last night of our trip, I was also able to travel to the top of the Eiffel Tower and look down upon the shining city of Paris. I was truly brought back in time looking out onto the Parisian cityscape.

Reminiscing upon my trip, I am glad I went, and am now filled with an intense desire to journey to even more places, experiencing even more history for myself.

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Liam Regan comes to Hillsdale from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is a history major, a member of the Investment Club and Catholic Society, and enjoys board games and reading in his free time.