If you could witness any event in history what would it be?

The Titanic? the holocaust? the day I was born? how about the year the Canadian pacific railway was complete? The building of the CPR hard work, not much pay, not the best job but man what I would give to see the Canadian Pacific Railway being built. I would go back to the year 1882-1883 the year in which the railway was complete.

I have seen old railway lines and I imagine them in action. I would thank the people who do the work and maybe even help. I think it would be cool to be a girl growing up at that time, living on a farm and making all your meals. no restaurants, no TV, no computer but you make your own fun, like playing outside!

that is the one event I would go back to if I had to choose Only one event.

A day that I would like to remember is not a day of happiness or celebration but a day which took away those very things from many people.I wish ,I wish I had been there on January 11th 2002.A day when history was unconciously made.The day when the the first twenty prisoners were put into Guantanamo Bay.That is the day when I would like to go back it time and try to understand what was going through the minds of the Bush administration.The U.S administration over the course of 8 years has housed over 760 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.Prisoners who have been held captive for years and years without even being given a fair chance to prove there innocence.I used to think that today after so many years of struggling we had gotten basic human rights for every citizen of the world.That may sound naive but I've come to understand that unless some cruel or inhumane event occurs that grabs our attension,people don't seem to see the true darkness of the world around them. These prisoners or more accurately captives are people just like us and our parents many are doctors or teachers or gardners . I don't think every prisoner is innocent or that they are guilty but what I do think is that none of these captives have been trailed fairly.In journals written by their lawyers it has been said that the prisoners were'nt even allowed to contact relatives or others in there own country when they were on trail, who could act as witnesses or bring them evidence of their innocence.Barack Obama stated in 22 January 2010 that Guantanamo Bay would be closed soon yet there are still a reported 196 captives there.If I could go back in time, maybe a protest back in 2002 could have stopped so many prisoners from going there.Maybe we could have insured a fair trail for them at the very least.Maybe we could have stopped those who commited suicide at the camp.Maybe we could have returned some of those prisoners back to their families,their loved ones.

I've considered myself a lucky person. I've never had to experience any true pain. Never had a broken leg or lost someone special. Most importantly, the people around me have treated me fairly. The lack of pain in my life leads me to wonder how would it feel to live in a world where you are faced with nothing but pain? And who would ever cause others pain? Which is why, if I could witness any event in history it would be the Holocaust during World War II.

Adolf Hitler, the leader of the Nazi, was the main factor for the Holocaust. Cyril Connolly's quote:

"Hate is the consequence of fear; we fear something before we hate it; a child who fears noises becomes a man who hates noise."

made me ponder if Hitler was causing others pain because of fear. If I could face Hitler, I want to know the reason behind Hitler's antisemitic belief causing a massacre.

Humans have driven themselves to find an answer to the question 'Why?'. Why do the planets rotate the Sun? Because of the gravitational pull. Why is the grass green? Because of chlorophyll. When Hitler caused his own people pain one has to wonder 'Why?'.

I've never understood true pain. I wondered why did anyone want to cause others pain? How could I even understand pain? I thought,if I could witness the Holocaust in WWII it would help me to understand pain. Surely, six million people murdered is true pain.

If I could go back in time, I would definitely want to go into the medieval times.I am so curious about how the kings peasants and knights lived.I mean, back then, the girls would definitely wait for thier "knight in shining armour", LITERALLY!
The differance between class and status,is just too unbelievable,and i want to see it with my own eyes.Also their clothes!!!! i wanna see how the girls dressed,did they seriously wear like 6 layers of clothing? Including a steel frame that fit around their waist, like they showed in "Cinderella"? And the hats with the feathers!!! I would love to walk down a cobble stine road, and have horse carraiges pass by me instead of cars.Yup, thats what i would want to witness.XD

By Shuyin Yu - Vernon Barford Junior High, Edmonton AB

Most people would choose a truly historic day of the world if they can go back in time; I am not ‘most people’. Just look at my title; do I seem normal to you? I’m going to guess no. So, if I can go back in time, I would choose January 14, 2002 without a hint of hesitation to see George Washington Bush pass out from ‘THE’ pretzel. Although I have NOTHING personal against the guy who once ran the US government, but can you blame me for wanting to see how such a yummy condiment injures a full grown male human? It would be liquid gold to see the famous cut resulting not from a bullet, but rather falling from a sofa, passed out. Some of you reading this might be wondering: “who would find that entertaining?” Your answer was found in a previous copy of Youthink which had one of my other works published: “’cause I’m a bit of a sadist, peoples!” Just proves to show you, that you should have listened to Mom when she told you that you should chew before you swallow. Now please excuse me while I go gather my pretzel army, ready to take over the world by making all the world’s leaders pass out! Just kidding! So remember, chew your food, enjoy your television, and look forward to the future with the chance of an Obama incident; politicians have to keep us entertained somehow! Now, how do I get back to 2010?

If I could experience a time in history, I would choose the “Youthquake” of the 1960s, which I learned about from my older (and wiser!) neighbour. While not, strictly speaking, an “event”, it was a chain of events that make up one of the most intriguing and exciting decades in Canadian history. As the Baby Boomers from the war grew up, they became teenagers—a whole generation of them! Imagine, walking down the street, young people everywhere (that would probably give some adults a headache)…teens dominated everything of the time: culture, music, fashion, societal values. There were also lots of hippies who dressed in interesting ways (no comment) but I’m fascinated by how they seem so “cool” and calm—yet also feel very strongly about issues like the war in Vietnam and protested forcefully against it. Peace and love, rock and roll, psychedelic colours and crazy styles were the “norm”. People didn’t care what others thought—what a carefree world to live in! Women were also becoming empowered to speak up for themselves, starting the women’s movement for suffrage, equal rights, and the title of being “persons” in the Canadian Charter. Nellie McClung, Emily Murphy, and the other members of the Famous Five are—in my opinion—amazing and ambitious women that I would love to meet! People were also becoming more aware of the environment, and Greenpeace started up. In essence, the 1960s would be an interesting period to experience! People might have seemed a little crazy, but they had fun and were breaking out of conformity.

Personally, I would've loved to have been in San Francisco during the '60s. It's not really the rock and roll, which seems to have an aspect of heart and soul missing in today's music, that moves me, nor is it the psychedelic craze and the liberal mindset of the time. To me, it's not so much as the mysterious and charismatic, talented-as-hell musicians such as Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix that led society in a more loving and accepting direction.

What I love the most about the hippie zeitgeist, about the '60s, about the Summer of Love, is that one single thing - music - seemed to have united people, and brought love and acceptance into society without violence or protest.

That's what I'd like to witness.

Make love, not war!

Many people claim that - if given the chance - they would to want to see some of the more historic events that have taken place throughout the world. Although I cannot disagree that seeing incredible historic figures such as Martin Luther King, or Hitler and the Nazi’s, or even the day women got the vote, I cannot help but to be drawn towards something closer to the musical aspect of life. Although seeing something as serious, and dismal as WWII would be completely and utterly life altering, I cannot help but feel as if my chance to go back in time should be something that could change my life for the better, not the worst.

If given the chance, I would choose to go back to the early sixties. When bands like The Beatles, and The Ramones were first starting to be heard. Imagine how empowering it would be to hear the legends playing live, right in front of you. To experience something that has undoubtedly added to the foundation of our music and pop culture today would be an exhaustively nostalgic experience.

Women used to not have rights. Imagine , you want to be a politician. You can't though because your a female. Females can only have certain jobs or you want to vote on who will be your Mayor. Your declined because you are a Women. You don't have any rights. Then comes along 5 brave women who decide to fight for you and the rest of women. After a good fight and after never giving up , the 5 brave women won rights for all females. Those 5 fearless women are now known as the famous five. I would like to witness the day women got rights. I would like to see the heroic women that gave me rights. Not to mention women's rights. When I grow up , I want to build my own computer and I can do that thanks to the Famous five. I can be anything I want to be when I am older.

Remember back to that torturous third term of your grade 10 year. To be exact, remember back to those Social Studies classes which seemed to drag on forever.

With our fixed curriculums, grade 10 students all over British Columbia pored over old textbooks filled with every single detail of the life of Louis Riel. The whole three months that we spent with Mr. Riel is hard to forget. His tedious Red River rebellion, his delusional speeches, and his famous moustache will forever remain in my memories. In fact, it’s safe to say that former grade 10’s all over the province have established some sort of a relationship with that man.

With my newfound and expansive knowledge of Louis Riel, why wouldn’t I want to see him? Forget more famous figures like Hitler and Ghandi, Riel is the one I want! With no hesitation I would ask to be taken back to that fateful day on which Riel and the Métis stormed Fort Garry. Standing there, I would gaze in awe at the moustachioed man who is considered a “Father of Confederation” and who continues to bring pain to British Columbian students decades after his death.