story8517.xml

story8517.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-10-18

On September 11, 2001, many horible things were done to our country. Terrorists killed thousands of people, not just Americans, but people from all over the world. Americans are really people from all over the world living together, helping each other. A year after these tragic events, we are still working together. We have survived, and no terrorists could ever tear apart the love in this country.

Does that mean we haven't been affected by these terrible deeds? Of course not. Take a look around you. A whole lot has changed. My life, along with millions of other people's lives all over the world, has been touched in one way or another by September 11th. You will see that our country is more united than ever! I dare you to try to count every patriotic thing being done in our country. It's nearly impossible. There are that many. From people lighting candles, saying prayers, to all the flags on every door or window, everyone is working together to get past the pain and to show their American spirit. There have been other changes, although we wish they weren't necessary. We have had great advances in security and have become more aware of possibly being reintroduced to harmful diseases. Some people have been affected more than others, some even losing family members and close friends. No matter what the situation, we have all been affected.

At the time of the attacks, I was at school. What had started out as a regular school day, ended up being one of the most upsetting things ever to happen in our history. Not long after the planes hit the World Trade Center, we started to sense that there was something wrong. Because we were in school, we were not informed until later about what was going on. I understood why. After all, there were younger children in the building that might not have been able to cope with the situation. Still, I would have liked to know the facts a lot sooner. We heard rumors, but I didn't really believe what everyone was saying. I remember one of my friends was wearing a New York City shirt with the Twin Towers on it. She said they were gone, but I still wasn't sure if the rumors were true.

It wasn't until I got home and turned on the television, that I found out what was going on. That's when I saw the events that were happening. Things that were so tragic I practically started crying right then and there. I didn't know anyone who had died, but I was affected just the same. I remember turning the radio on and going online to download and listen to the tribute songs. I think that was when I really grasped what was happening.

I hope that these events will never be forgotten. I hope they will live on forever in our hearts and in our minds. We should remember all the innocent people who died and all of the people who died helping others survive. We need to remember the people on the planes who knew they were about to crash. We need to remember the people on the flight in Pennsylvania who fought back to save the lives of other people who might have died. We need to remember to always stay together. We need to learn to love each other so that America can keep standing strong. United we stand. God bless America!