Upon returning to school after summer vacation, we participated in the ritual of sharing about our experiences the last three months. There were always a few stories of far away places and plenty more of lake stories. When you grow up near Table Rock Lake, there isn’t always a large urge to travel elsewhere for serenity. At the beginning of my 8th grade year, I finally had my “ultimate summer vacation” story: Gettysburg.

Gettysburg wasn’t the Disney vacation most kids wanted. I’ve always been an odd duck like that. When we finally got satellite television I was most excited for the History Channel. This was back when they had actual history content, instead of reality television lightly coated in a slight shade of knowledge. Standing at Culp’s Hill or on Little Round Top at Gettysburg was far more important to me than any ride or amusement experience.

I acted up in school a lot. I was bored, or so they say. Learning was never the problem, that’s a hobby of mine. My problem was the “what” and “how” of learning that didn’t align with my active brain. While talking during class, the teacher called me out.

“Would you like to teach the class?”

“As a matter of fact, yes I would.” My smart ass gladly accepted the task. We were finally talking about the Civil War, be it very briefly, and I was stoked. There were only two times that the Civil War came up in curriculum between kindergarten and eighth grade. The first was fifth grade, and I had been invited back each year after to talk to younger classes about my passion for history.

So I got my day to teach my class on the Civil War. I came up with outlines, and we even took class outside. I organized them into lines of battle to better understand how Civil War battles moved. I don’t think I cared about school as much as I did that day until graduate school. I had tried to share my love of history with my classmates for years. Do you know how hard it is to get most elementary school kids to care about boring old history? Do you know how hard it is to get them to join your Civil War Club? I sure do. Damn near impossible. My first academic history attempt was a failure. Nobody showed up. Apparently recess on the playground was more fun than sitting in the library to look at black and white photos of battlefields and army encampments.

When I finally decided to go to college, graduate school was the logical choice. I didn’t have a desire to willingly put myself in a position to receive the karma I deserved for my hellion years. I knew I wanted to teach history. I longed for an excuse to travel and dig through archives. Then I wanted to share what I found with the masses! What a lovely thought.

I studied guerrilla warfare, specifically in the American Civil War after my undergraduate. I studied folks who realized that doing things the “normal” way just wasn’t for them. While guerrilla ideals vary wildly (let’s grab a pint and I can tell you about ALL of them!), the concept of forging one's own path is prevalent. I miss aspects of grad school and academia. The intellectual boxing ring can be a lot of fun, but I like my creative freedom. I know I SHOULD finish my master’s, but I think I’ll just start a guerrilla history podcast, instead.

Not that starting kindergarten during a pandemic is a good gauge, but I’m seeing the early signs of boredom in my own kiddo. We’ve focused on two goals: taking care of others and knowing when to do things the standard way, and when to do them your own way.

-Jake

*If you find yourself with the means and desire to contribute to this journey, please follow the link. Want to buy me a cup of coffee a month for $3? Great! Want to drop $20 in the tip jar? Great! Any bit helps and goes to creating and sharing the journey and sharing that adventure with you. Thanks so much for your time!

Jake Turner