Yahoo! is asking Americans how September 11 changed them. Below is an account from a reader.
We were all a child once. Breathing the air of every season, basking in the freedom we had, never knowing one day could make such an impact, that somewhere inside, being that child, you knew there was a certain purpose you will fulfill. Being an 11 year old in 2001, I was educated enough to understand principles of warfare, flight safety, and the physics of impacts on an object to know the overall outcome of something falling. At 9:02 AM Eastern time, it was about 6:02 AM here in Tucson, Arizona; however, that same second my innocent eyes, having been so confused as to why smoke was coming out of a tall building, saw flight 175 hit the south tower on the television screen. The entire day, we recapped the entire catastrophe in our classrooms, and I sat in silence wishing I listened to my mother as she pleaded for me to stay with her. That same day, I purchased the daily paper and there was Bush on the cover stating, “We will find him, we are going to war.” I saved that same clip knowing, it was going to be important to me later in life. The deepest sadness overcame me because then, I felt desperate to help my country even though I was 11. Our classes wrote and edited letters to the white house, but that still wasn’t enough for me.
From 2001 to 2011, there was a certain void I felt in my adolescent years, streaming to find my purpose of education for life. Writing countless poetry to express the grief I bared every anniversary, reminded me that I am one of thousands impacted a certain way that day. I knew that I wanted to pursue education as a career, but it wasn’t until my second year in college, my heart knew specifically what it yearned for. Since the age of 5, my heart always resided in American history. The architecture, culture, politics, and deliberate changes of our nation, engulfed me with greatest interest. How did 9/11 coincide with this interest? Simply because I knew that my country and my family are two things that stand important in my heart. Being 22, it is of that age in my horizon that I feel comforted knowing, that years from now a student of mine won’t know or understand these horrible events, but I know that I will be able to educate them of why our country became close, joined the military, became religious, and like me, wanted to do what they could to show are country won’t fall.
Sunday May 2nd, 2011, our nation was eased with the news so many grieving families and angry civilians waited 10 years for: Osama Bin Laden is finally dead. For those who were touched in anyway that day, we knew the souls of those who passed had the revenge gained, for no one deserved to die that day. That man tormented the eyes and hearts of many, to the point we needed closure. Many prayers were answered in May, but that hasn’t stopped us from staying cautious. America came together to create the Declaration of Independence so many years ago from our fathers of America. Through all the battles and wars we have undergone, we know in our hearts that this Sunday, September 11th, will remind us why we serve a purpose here and why are destined to prove that the weak will only gain strength.
To my close friends who served this country and helped preserve our dignity, I walk away proud to know them. To achieve my goal of never letting education forget how America came to be and how we will become selfless in the time of the most difficult obscurities, my students will learn to appreciate their country more, and I hope to inspire them to take what ever small notion they can to help our country. For ten years, a prayer was always said on 9/11 and since then I wasn’t able to watch the tapes or clips from the events, until now. Seeing them now, I know, that I and many others, have healed and learned to never lose faith, honoring those who will sacrifice everything in their will power to keep you safe. My admiration for my country and those who reside in it, will endorse my creativity of teaching and letting students advocate the constitution and moral purpose of freedom. We as American civilians, continue to take crucial events that startle us from surprise and document to make sure no one forgets.