[Untitled]

Center for History and New Media

Once I got older and became more aware of the situation of 9/11 and the entire impact of the event, the September 11th attack didn't just prolong my future check-ins at security points of airports, it changed my entire perspective on life and the U.S. as a whole. I became very thankful that fate had spared all of my family members during the attack, and especially the ones who were in the cities that were struck at the time the attack occurred. I later came to notice the hundreds of people sobbing after the attack because of loved ones they had lost or because of the sympathy over another. As a child, I never really paid much attention to the government. I'd always heard that the U.S. was involved in conflicts and had enemies, but I'd never really seen a major impact of any of the wars mainly because the physical conflict and war existed across an ocean in an entirely different region. This, unfortunately, changed on 9/11 as the world witnessed a tragic event that brought a war the U.S. was fighting to the home front where my family and I were able to see the proof first-hand that the U.S. was indeed at war.

I will remember the attacks on September 11th as not the tragic events that they were, but as unifying events that joined people together to help others get through a difficult time. I will still acknowledge the events that occurred on that significant day, but the sadness and grief that the day brought will not be what I chose to focus on. Although it did bring sorrow and bitter tastes of anguish to millions of people, that day brought families and people together to brush aside the negative relationships or events that may have been existent for a time and come together to share the good feelings that they have for each other. So on this anniversary, I do understand that this day will always live in infamy, however, I prefer to focus on the unity, triumph and affection that came as a result of it.