nmah3622.xml

nmah3622.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I was a sophomore in high school, and I was waiting for class to start. My friends and I were talking about what we did over the weekend, copying each other's chemistry, and stressing about the Algebra quiz. Somebody came into the room and said, "Somebody bombed the World Trade Center!" Some people were doubtful, like me. I thought that it was just a rumor. I wish that I was right. About 2 minutes later, an anouncement came on conferming the bombing of building 1 of the WTC. My chemistry class converged with the physics class, and we all gathered around a TV. CNN explained to us all that it was in fact an airplane that crashed into the WTC. Later on, in my 2nd period class, the radio told us about the 2nd building falling to the ground. And finally, we heard of the Pentagon's tragedy. The entire school was in panic. Questions filled the building. Who did it? Would we be going to war? And most importantly, Why did something like this happen to us? Now, a year later, I know who it was. I know that we didn't go to war. But I still don't understand why.

I would like to say yes to this question, but that would be deceitful. No, my life has not been changed, but it has, however, been affected. I live in Texas, and I don't know of any one that died in the tragedy of 9/11. I still wake up every day, go to school, hang out with my friends on the weekends, and watch Gillmore Girls religiously. I still go to church every week and Colorado every summer. So no, my life has not changed. But that doesn't mean that I was deeply affected by the events. When I got home from school and watched CNN, I cried. To this day, when I remember what happened, I become sad. I feel extremely sorry for all of the families of the fire fighters and the victims. But my life is, to some extent, uneffected.

In a word, everything. Especially all of the lives lost and all of the heros gained. All of the stories, the confusion, the astonishment. This event will never, ever be forgotten. Not one part of it. It is documented for every channel. People will tell their grandchildren about it. It will be taught about in history classes 100 years from now. Every aspect of it- who, when, why, where, how. And that's the way it ought to be.

My family has always flown an American flag on holidays such as the 4th of July, Veteran's Day, etc. After September 11, it now flies proud outside of our house every day. Before the events of September 11, I looked at the flag and saw Union soldiers battling for unity and America fighting for freedom back in the 1800s. Now I look at it, and I see that the American symbol doesn't just stand for the old wars fought. It stands for what we are now- One nation, under God, with liberty. And we will have justice for all.