nmah5486.xml

nmah5486.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2003-04-09

I woke up to sound of my telephone ringing on September 11th, 2001. My mother was on the other end yelling frantically about a plane that had crashed into the World Trade Center. Still in a daze from just waking up, I walked over to the television and turned it on. To my surprise and horror I watched as hundreds of Americans were fleeing down the streets that were usually filled with cars, trucks, and buses. These people were covered in soot as their tears streamed down their faces. Smoke hung above the city while down below firefighters, policemen, and emergency personnel passionately tried to save the lives of the American people. I hung my head in heartache. All the people that had been killed or hurt; all the children that had lost their parents; all the families who had lost loved ones. How could this have happened? I initially believed that it was a tragic mistake of the pilot who had been flying the plane that crashed into the north tower. And then the inconceivable happened. As the live footage continued of this horrendous incident, a second plane evaporated into the south tower. I literally couldn't believe my eyes. What was going on? This was not a mistake. This was somebody who was trying to hurt the United States. This was somebody who hated all of us, to say the least. And although I was living in Michigan at the time and had no family in New York or traveling in airplanes, I sat on my couch and cried. It was the worst event in history on American soil and certainly in my twenty one years of living. And the pain and suffering didn't end there. The Pentagon was attacked and another American icon was saved when another plane crashed in Pennsylvania. Why would anyone want to take the lives of so many people? Why would anyone want to destroy such a symbolic portrait of American life?

My life has changed in many dramatic ways since September 11th, 2001. Since 1997, my senior year of high school, I had been chatting on the internet and talking on the telephone with a young man named Christopher. We began talking in November of 1997 as friends who shared similar interests. After his wife died of birthing complications on January 6th, 1998, which just so happens to be my birthday, we began talking more often and more in depth. He needed somebody to talk to and to understand him and that is exactly what I wanted to do for him. In the next four years, up to September 11th, 2001, we had met once for about a week and knew that we wanted to be together. But the timing wasn't right. I was going to college and he was raising his baby girl by himself with the help of some relatives. We kept in touch during the course of the years as friends but we both knew that we would some day be together. After September 11th came and went, we both realized that anything can happen to anybody at anytime and decided it was time to see each other again. We wanted to be sure that our love for each other still existed. It did. Two weeks after my visit to Virginia I packed all of my belongings and moved to be with him and Christina. I left my family and friends and even left right in the middle of my semester at school. We just couldn't bare the thought of living without each other anymore and we couldn't be happier! September 11th also has taught me to be more patient when it comes to relationships with people, to not get so angry when things don't go my way, and to be grateful for everyday that I am living. I am a better person for this.

Everything that had to do with September 11th, 2001 should be remembered, but the people of 9/11 should be remembered the most. These include the people who were inside the buildings and inside the planes, the firefighters, the policemen, the emergency personnel, and the reporters and photographers, both who are still living and who died in the horrific catastrophe. Also the friends and family of all those who died should be remembered and preserved. And even the American people who came together to help those in need by donating blood, money, and time should be remembered. There were so many heroes who emerged from this tragedy; from the children whose parents were killed in the World Trade Centers to the men who took over United Flight 93 so another plane couldn't attack us again. The people should be remembered forever.

The American flag means so much more than it did before September 11th, 2001. After the attacks, businesses lowered their flags to half mast and posted sayings like, "God Bless America," and "United We Stand." The flag just represents exactly those sayings but without the words. Everytime I see the American flag now I am reminded of how united we were during those tough times and how united we could be all of the time. It's symbolizes our freedom and our fight to not have it taken away from us. I didn't realize this until after the tragedy, which I think is true to most American people. I still fly an American flag outside of my home to this day.