What is it that I DO?

I suppose everyone has to evaluate their choice in profession at some point in their lives. I suppose historians do this more often than others do. So I've been asking myself lately, what is it that I DO? I mean, I know what I do when I come to work. I sit down at a computer, open a word document, stare at it blankly until inspiration hits me, and then in a burst of activity create from nothing a wonderful exhibit that will at some point be arranged neatly downstairs. But why? Why do I do this, aside from the obvious, Jennifer told me to? Well, I interpret. What do I interpret? The past? Who am I to tell people what their past was like? Everyone has their own unique past, even in a collective sense. Everyone experiences the same events differently. So why would a person choose to take time out of their day to subject themselves to my interpretation of their past? This is a question I think as public historians we have to keep near and dear to our hearts, because we are, essentially, doing just that. I think we have to make sure that we keep the avenue for self-interpretation open, and force as little of ourselves into our work as possible. Difficult? Very. But imperative? Absolutely. People will not want to come to our facilities if we do not engage them in their interpretations and allow them to absorb our work on a unique and personal level. Every person should get something different out of our work. They should be able to relate their own pasts or their perceptions of their past to what we tell them and show them. Now, I just have to set about the task of figuring out how to do that.