I'm going to go ahead and apologize in advance, this post is a little more on the serious side. It just didn't feel right writing one of my normal goofball posts on a day like today, so feel free to ignore this. I promise to only be slightly offended.
Twelve years ago today, I walked into my third period English class and noticed the little wall mounted TV in the corner of the classroom was on. This was weird. Ms. Maurer wasn't the type to play movies in class.
I sat down to realize it was not a movie. The teachers had the news playing in every classroom because word had gotten around that a plane had accidentally crashed into the World Trade Center. How sad we all thought. As we watched we soon learned it was no accident at all.
The entire class period was spent watching the news. We learned a plane had also crashed into the Pentagon. Immediately every student and I assume the teachers as well began to worry about anyone they knew that lived in New York or DC. We were confused, but for awhile just felt this was a tragic incident.
I knew this was not good, but it wasn't until later in the day after lots of talk had been talked and more news stories unfolded, that I realized how serious it all was. This was not just an attack on some buildings, it was an attack on our Nation. This would change everything.
My 11th grade mind feared the worst. I can remember sitting silently in my Spanish class, the last class of the day, and imagining a war raging in my front yard as I had read about in history books. I pictured my school being bombed, and the fact that my then home was just a few miles from an Air force base clearly meant my family was in imminent danger. I assumed all my over 18 male friends would be drafted and forced to fight in this war I invented in my high school brain.
After school I rode the bus to my best friend's house who had two older brothers. We began plotting ways we could sneak them and my ex boyfriend to their cabin in Canada so none of them would have to be drafted. We were hippie kids, they would not survive in a war. I got in trouble that day for not coming right home from school. Looking back I am sure my mom was as scared as I was.
While none of those things happened, and my life was not impacted in the dramatic ways I imagined that day, the events of September 11 did define my life in many ways. Because that day defined my generation. 9/11 was and still is the worst thing that has happened to America in my entire lifetime. I hope it always will be because I can't imagine something worse, especially now that I am not so innocent.
September 11 changed a lot of things.
Because of that day, many of my friends were sent oversees and came back different. They will probably never be the same.
Because of that day, many families lost their loved ones.
Because of that day, many soldiers were hurt. Some very seriously hurt.
Because of that day, anytime a tragedy occurs we worry it is a threat to our Nation's security.
Because of that day, security at airports and government buildings got a lot stricter.
Because of that day, I have witnessed many of my Middle Eastern friends become victim of prejudice.
Because of that day, I think many of us (myself included) gained a greater sense of pride for being an American.
I may not agree with everything that happens in this country and I prefer a British accent to my own any day, but there is still no place I would rather live.
Today I am attending a Wounded Warrior Project fundraiser and memorial event that a friend of mine is organizing. I have never done something like this in memory of 9/11 but I am glad that I am this year. I am glad because even though I know it will be sad and emotional, I tend to not make a big deal of things. But somethings should be made a big deal of and this is one of them.
7 comments:
i was at work when the 2nd plane hit and everyone was glued to the tv. the WHOLE OFFICE was quiet; it was so eerie.
also, i'm doing tough mudder on the 28th which supports the wounded warrior project :)
-kathy
Vodka and Soda
I was in my 9th grade science class....this was the first big thing I really ever remembering happening....love your post!!! It is beautifully written!
I was on the phone with my New York sales guy when the first plane hit. He was a few blocks away. He told me to turn on the TV and hung up the phone.
Awful day.
"Because that day defined my generation." - couldn't be truer. Very well written.
ironically enough i had just walked into my AP US history class. I still remember how i felt sitting there watching what was happening on tv.
That day I was reading Lance Armstong's It's Not About The Bike and thought it couldn't have been me and I would not have felt like I accomplished anything of greatness. It was that day that I decided to do a triathlon. I ended up doing 7 until getting injured. Each day should be lived to the fullest so we may never forget those who fought, those who fight, and how quickly it can end.
I think I was in 11th grade too, I remember getting an announcement over the loudspeaker during 1st period. Definitely didn't grasp the seriousness of it at the time either. Probably a mix of my age, the lack of information, etc etc.
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