--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History is what you want it to be." description: "\"History is what you want it to be.\" — Anonymous" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac9/anonymous-1_history_history-is-what-you-want-it-to-be-208684_2086841.jpg" --- # History is what you want it to be. ![“History is what you want it to be.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac9/anonymous-1_history_history-is-what-you-want-it-to-be-208684_2086841.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac9/anonymous-1_history_history-is-what-you-want-it-to-be-208684_2086841.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac9/anonymous-1_history_history-is-what-you-want-it-to-be-208684_2086841.jpg) > “History is what you want it to be.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History reflects personal perspective and bias. **In simple terms:** History is subjective. Key Takeaway Question narratives. Themes history subjectivity power memory truth Mood critical inquisitive Type analytical skeptical When to use this quote - education - media - politics - personal memoirs - archaeology Key Concepts philosophy political science Questions to Reflect On - Whose interests shape the story? - Can facts exist without interpretation? A Different Perspective May ignore objective facts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ## Related quotes > [This is what I think is fun about fiction - you get to use as much history as you want as scaffolding and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/this-is-what-i-think-is-fun-about-fiction-you-get-to-use-as-much/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [I think we take the history we want to take in order to back up the stories we want to hear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-kingsnorth/i-think-we-take-the-history-we-want-to-take-in-order-to-back-up-the/) [Paul Kingsnorth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-kingsnorth/) > [I will write on the pages of history what I want them to say. I will be myself. I will speak my own name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-will-write-on-the-pages-of-history-what-i-want-them-to-say-i-will/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I don't want to go into history; I want to go into the Canal Zone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-torrijos-herrera/i-don-t-want-to-go-into-history-i-want-to-go-into-the-canal-zone/) Omar Torrijos Herrera > [We can rewrite history all you want, but the simple fact is that we're in a much more unstable place because America pulled back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/we-can-rewrite-history-all-you-want-but-the-simple-fact-is-that-we-re/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [There is a temptation for the writer or the teacher of Church history to want to tell everything, whether it is worthy or faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyd-k-packer/there-is-a-temptation-for-the-writer-or-the-teacher-of-church-history/) [Boyd K. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyd-k-packer/) > [If people really want to know and learn from history, why do they want bad history? Why don't they want good history? Wouldn't you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-weir/if-people-really-want-to-know-and-learn-from-history-why-do-they-want/) [Alison Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-weir/) > [“It's bad idea to try to prevent people from knowing their own history. If you want to do anything new you must first make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-hans-josef-gombrich/it-s-bad-idea-to-try-to-prevent-people-from-knowing-their-own-history/) Ernst Hans Josef Gombrich > [I don't look back on history. I want to look forward to the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-janssen/i-don-t-look-back-on-history-i-want-to-look-forward-to-the-future/) [Vincent Janssen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-janssen/) > [I like characters and stories that challenge the status quo. Lately, I'm really interested in history because I find that in my public school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-chastain/i-like-characters-and-stories-that-challenge-the-status-quo-lately-i/) [Jessica Chastain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-chastain/) > [I'm tired of reading about history, I want to make it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-savio/i-m-tired-of-reading-about-history-i-want-to-make-it/) [Mario Savio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-savio/) > [“You see, boys forget what their country means by just reading The Land of the Free in history books. Then they get to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-see-boys-forget-what-their-country-means-by-just-reading-the-land/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Any time gone by was better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/any-time-gone-by-was-better/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We have nothing in our history or position to invite aggression; we have everything to beckon us to the cultivation of relations of peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-have-nothing-in-our-history-or-position-to-invite-aggression-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you continue to dwell on the past, there's no chance for a future. History repeats itself, thus, it's ok to LOOK back at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-continue-to-dwell-on-the-past-there-s-no-chance-for-a-future/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History is what you want it to be.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-what-you-want-it-to-be/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-what-you-want-it-to-be/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac9/anonymous-1_history_history-is-what-you-want-it-to-be-208684_2086841.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac9/anonymous-1_history_history-is-what-you-want-it-to-be-208684_2086841.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac9/anonymous-1_history_history-is-what-you-want-it-to-be-208684_2086841.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“History is what you want it to be.” — Anonymous", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "History is what you want it...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-what-you-want-it-to-be/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/history-is-what-you-want-it-to-be/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```