nmah4349.xml

nmah4349.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

I was first made aware of the events when I arrived at school, and I immediately heard the anxiety and fear in my classmates' voices as they quickly told thier stories to one another. Curious, I asked what was going on, and I was horrified at their reply: "Two planes have crashed into the Twin Towers!"
I hurried into my Social Studies class, and my teacher, Mr. Bevier, wasted no time in explaining the full extent of the attacks, and he also talked about the suspicions about who might be responsible. Some of his words (not exact) wer, "This is history, right now. You will be in the history books 10 years from now, and you'll tell your kids and grandkids what you remember. You are part of history."

Actually, besides the initial reactions caused by Sept. 11, my life has not been altered in any significant, tangible way. While I have taken plenty of time to think about the victims and heroes whose lives were lost or greatly changed by the attack, my family and I have only felt the smaller aftereffects of the tragedy, such as longer security lines in airports. I personally believe this is a good thing, because it shows that America is moving on, hurt but not crippled by the attacks.

I believe September 11 should be remembered as aday when adversity and grief bound us together by an invisisble thread. As a day when we were unified by those who died as victims and as heroes. As a day of sadness, of confusion and despair, but also as a day when we learned to cherish our freedom and all that we have when others do not.

Somewhat surprisingly, my family did not fly a flag after the events of 9-11. This is most likely because my mother made a decision not to let my 8-year-old sister and I get too deeply involved in watching the fall of the WTC towers unfold. We still remember the events in full detail, of course, and I sometimes take the time to silently say, "Thank you. Thank you for unintentionally sacrificing your life so I didn't have to do the same with mine. And, I'm sorry. I hope your spirit ends up somewhere happy."