story7745.xml

story7745.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-17

If you had asked me before September 11th if I was patriotic, I would have said, "yes," not really giving it much thought. I just figured that I was patriotic because I was an American citizen, would wear red, white, and blue on the Fourth of July, and would recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning. I never thought about my immense love for this country. I never thought about the unity of the people of this country. I never thought about those who are not fortunate enough to live in a free world. I never thought that my patriotism would change greatly. On September 11th, all that would change.

I was sitting in my 2nd period drama class, goofing off with my friends and just chatting like we usually do. We were just going about our normal day. A fellow classmate received a news bulletin on his watch. It said, "Plane crashed into World Trade." It just kept running across his watch like a scrolling marquee. We weren't sure exactly what it meant or what was going on. I just ignored it figuring some small private plane must have hit it. I didn't think anything of it. The bell then rang and we moved onto break and onto my 4th period class, chemistry. About 45 minutes into class, my teacher turned on the TV. What I saw just made me sick to my stomach. We just sat there, motionless, and watched in horror. Students' faces in the room just froze in sheer panic. Classmates were getting upset because many of their parents work in the Pentagon, where another plane had hit. While watching the news, I didn't understand at first what was going on. The World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon had each been hit by a commercial airplane. This was serious. "Why?" I kept asking myself, "Why would they do this?" The news had said that they believed it to be an act of terrorism. I didn't really understand what terroism was. I never really heard much about the subject. After a few minutes, it hit me that I had no idea if my mom was safe. She doesn't work in the Pentagon, but she was going to Pennsylvania that morning with my grandmother and would be on the highway that passes right in front of the Pentagon at around the time the plane hit. I didn't know if they made it or if they were stuck because of closing of the highway. It wasn't until after I got home that I was able to get in contact with my mom who had safely arrived in Pennsylvania. We got out of school early, and I just came home and sat down in front of the TV with my dad. I just sat there watching the horrifc replays of the planes crashing and the towers falling. Almost every single channel had switched over from their regular programming to the terrorist attack coverage. There was no way to escape it. I just didn't believe that it was really happening. All I could was sit there, in shock, and just cry for all those who lost their lives. Children would growp up not to know their loved ones. It was such an awakening experience. We are not safe from anything. We take for granted almost everything in life. I never thought in a million years, would an attack of this magnitude occur in America. I thought we were on good terms with other countries. I thought wrong. Even though America lost many great lives that day, we became stronger. Everyone in this nation united and became one. People were holding services, candelit vigils, and making memorials. Patriotism was shooting up all over the place. Everyone was donning our nation's colors: red, white, and blue. I found myself thinking about how proud I am to be an American.

In the days, weeks, and months afterwards, life was melancholy. The news showed the clean-up of Ground Zero and would periodically do feature stories about 9-11. I was able to get back to my daily routine of life. But I never forgot those thousands of people who were innocently killed. I have the utmost respect for them and their families. I feel slightly guilty that I participated in the increase of patriotism right after the attacks. It showed me that it had to take something so terribly disastrous to make me realize that I love my country. I should have been this patriotic all along. But now, if you ask me if I am patriotic, I would say, "With all my heart, body, and soul."