nmah6801.xml

nmah6801.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2004-09-14

On September 11, 2001, I woke up to find my mom staring in shock at the TV. There was a tall building, smoke pouring out of it as the words "LIVE - Breaking News" flashed across the screen. My mom explained to me that a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. I had heard of the World Trade Center before, but at the time, I really didn't have any idea what it was. As I watched the story continue to unfold, a second plane suddenly appeared and crashed into the second building. I couldn't believe what was happening. It obviously wasn't an accident, but why would someone do something like this to our country? Then, the unbelievable happened as in turn, both towers crumbled, and fell. The pictures of New York seemed solemn, almost eerie - images of a city shrouded in thick, black smoke.
During the following weeks, I learned more and more about what had happened. What really made an impression on me, however, was listening to the heart wrenching cell phone calls of people who were trapped, telling their families that they loved them, one last time. Not only were these recordings painful to listen to, but watching as some chose jumping from hundreds of stories rather than burn was awful.
But from these horrible circumstances, amazing stories of bravery and heroes arose. All the great firemen who willingly risked their lives to help others, and some unknown heroes, who helped in simple, but significant ways, like giving up their place on the elevator for someone else. Then, there were the brave passengers on one of the planes who stood up to the terrorists and caused them to miss their fourth target. I don't know that I would have had the courage to do the same.
Although I may not have understood everything that was going on at the time, I did know that someone had planned this with the intent of hurting innocent people and destroying symbols of our country's prosperity in order to weaken our country. All I could think was why?

I guess witnessing September 11th made me more grateful for this great country that I live in and all the freedoms we enjoy. I think it also made me appreciate life more, because so many were lost that day.

When some people think of September 11th, all they can think of is getting revenge on those responsible for this tragedy. Although I too wanted justice, what I really think should be preserved in our memories from this day in history are the people who died, the many heroes that arose, and how people put aside their differences to unite and our nation truly became one in the face of great adversity.

My family flew an American flag outside our house after September 11th. The American flag has come to mean more to me as a symbol of our country and freedoms because after all that happened on September 11th, the American flag was everywhere. It was almost a sign of comfort for me, that our nation was still standing, and that we would survive.