"The power and breath of our own lives, and the energy with which we reflect on them are the foundation of historical vision.” 

Wilhelm Dilthey, Patterns and Meaning in History

"All human beings are practicing history.  As we go through life we present ourselves to others through our life story; as we grow and mature we change that story through different interpretations and different emphasis.  We stress different events as having been decisive at different times in our life history and, as we do so, we give those events new meanings.  People do not think of this as “doing history”; they engage in it often without special awareness.  We live our lives; we tell our stories.  It is as natural as breathing.”

Gerda Lerner, Why History Matters