History

Note : This post was written before 9/11/2011. I was away all weekend and unable to post it.

It's been almost a decade since 9/11.  I was young when it happened, living all the way across the country, so New York was a distant fantasy-land as far as I knew.  Mom woke my brother and I up early in the morning.  I didn't understand what was going on, but it was a really big deal so I grabbed a butter knife and a granola bar in order to be prepared.  It was exciting.  School that day was not very memorable.  I don't remember the teacher explaining the situation very well, but she was very serious and very sad.  When I arrived home later that afternoon the grandparents Dad had dropped off at the airport early in the morning were there, their flight home having been canceled.  That awful day was just the opposite for me. It was a day full of childish joy.

The following days and weeks brought new ideas into my world.  The seriousness of 9/11 and the realities of a post 9/11 began to sink in, whether or not I was aware of it.  My brother and I added a morbid new drawing to our repertoire. Two rectangles, with crude smoke and fire coming out the top. Osama bin Laden became both a vague concept and the embodiment of evil for my generation.  The magazines racks at the Barnes and Noble had rows of covers with the same burning image.  I began to pay more and more attention to current events. Years passed. March 19th, 2003 was the day of my school birthday party.  After the party was over my grandpa brought over a TV and I stayed up way past my bedtime to watch as the US invaded Iraq.   Huddled up on the couch I scribbled history down on the first page of the new diary I had been given as a present.  History from a child's eyes, given all the gravity a little girl can give.

Important things happened, each event given it's own post in the diary.  My brother and I learned how to draw John Kerry, which was really a waste since Bush was elected again.  Saddam Hussein was found, then executed.  A tsunami happened, then a hurricane, then another election. Osama Bin Laden was killed.  New unfamiliar names came up in politics and I learned more and more about our government, our history and the world.

I seriously doubt that I would have learned so much or have been as interested in politics as a child had 9-11 not happened.  I believe that it is a fundamental part of my own history and greatly influenced my decision to study journalism.  Of course I am not glad that it happened. I am thankful, however, that America became more united and more patriotic through the tragedy.  Though I cannot hope to ever match the bravery of the men and women of September 11, I would like to continue in that kind of selfless spirit and bring good out of every situation.