My trip to the Reagan Library
Knowing about presidents was something I did because I had to for all of my history classes. It wasn’t until Friday that I actually had an interest for learning about someone else besides myself and my friends. I went with an open mind ready to learn and that’s exactly what I did. I learned so much not only about Reagan but about history as well. I got an inside to how times were back then. It is so different to read about it in a book than actually see objects that take you back in time. It’s like everything became so real when I read the side comments next to an object or saw pictures. What caught my attention the most was the president then and the first lady’s love stories and the wedding memory section they had. I was surprised that they would let such intimate object be seen by everyone but I’m happy they did because I enjoyed it and it made me feel a connection with the museum. With that said I will be going to more and I’m very happy I was able to go to the Reagan library because it opened a whole new door full of curiosity to something I had never been interested before. After going I called my dad and I couldn’t stop telling how amazed by some things I had seen. I’m planning on taking my siblings for them to experience what I experienced and become more interested in history.
The picture above was one of the ones that impressed me as soon as I walked in because as a president I would have never thought that he was an actor. I had always known that acting was not a career but more like a hobby. It was interesting that Reagan committed to it from High school to College. Those stages of my life have been the ones I have taken more serious than any other stage in life only because those are the ones I feel are shaping my life. If I would have been acting I know for sure my parents wouldn’t have been happy. My parents would have just seen it as me throwing my life away and that’s one of the things I was most excited to tell my dad. I told him the president of the United States of America at one point was an actor and not at a young age. I thought he was going to laugh and be surprised but like always the smartness of my dad surprised me and instead he said yes because that you are meant to be you will be either sooner or later and Reagan was a really smart man. I thought to myself that is really true. ” What you are meant to be in life you will be either sooner or later”
Athletes usually practice to be famous one day for the sport they practice not to be the president, that’s exactly what I thought to myself when I read this. Also the fact that he was not planning to become president but an actor. I usually think people who become very important are those who keep their noses in books all throughout High School. Although by the looks of it Reagan proved me wrong. It seemed like he was the jock everyone liked and knew or so that’s how I picture it in my head. The most important thing I took out of this was the fact that he was so involved in many things and was still able to have the grades to become president. I admire that because as a student when I was in High school I thought six classes was to much to handle especially with cheer. I could only imagine the amount of stress he had with being president of the drama club as well as being involved in yearbook. My props to you Reagan!
I thought it was so fascinating to see the yearbooks Reagan designed. I have yearbooks and I knew the people who designed them and I would never think they would become president one day. Not only was it nice to see the yearbooks a president had designed but it was also interesting to compare them to the ones I have of my senior year. They are nothing alike. The ones in the picture seem more serious to me although they are still nice. My yearbooks look like a children’s book compared to these. I would have liked to have seen them from inside to see him maybe acting or simply be a normal teenager like me now. Not only would I be interested in seeing Reagan but maybe his friends and how girls my age dressed like back then. Just by looking at the cover of the yearbook I had so many questions what if I looked in it and looked through every page. I probably would not be able to stop thinking of questions to ask. It would be one of those things that would take me back in time just by looking at pictures. I could not help it to think the black and white picture on tip did not look like him. That’s when he was a teenager in High school. Maybe looking through the yearbook would have helped me see more of how he was as a teenager which is something I would have been interested in finding out. I already knew by him previously being an actor that he was outgoing and loved being on stage but what else was he into? anything I’m into now maybe?
From what I know the world in Hollywood is really aggressive and competitive. Yet Ronald Reagan in his first 18 months had 13 films already that’s very impressive to me. I would have thought as being as smart as he is that it would not be hard to get what he wanted but like it says in the comment ” He lobbied hard for the part of…….”. It is also pretty admiring that he was noble enough to buy his parents a ranch and house. People who get to become something re usually those who I believe become less humble but from what I see Reagan was humble and it shows a lot of his personality.
Overall like I said before I enjoyed myself at the Reagan library it was definitely a new experience that I enjoyed. I would go back and walk through it again just to learn more about the small details.
