Ten years ago, I was in the 5th grade. I believe it was late start, so I didn't go to school until 9:30AM. I was at home when the terrorist attacked. My parents heard it on the radio and turned on the TV immediately. I thought it was just another "breaking news" where the police chased the bad guy on the freeway. But this time, it was different. Every channel was broadcasting the World Trade Center up in smokes, people running for their lives, and firefighters coordinating rescues. They kept replaying the scene where the airplane crashed into the WTC.
At that time, I was young; I didn’t know better; I was indifferent with everyday crisis/problems. I thought, “doesn’t this happen in everyday life”? So, I continued to flip through the channels trying to find some cartoons. With no success, I turned back to the news. Moments after, the second WTC was hit. Emotions ran high and I could see the fear in everybody’s faces through the screen.
Then all of a sudden, the first WTC began to collapse. Subsequently, the second followed. All the reporters were speechless—waiting for further instructions from their headquarters about what to say next. At that very moment, the world stood still. Everyone just stopped and stared. The great twin towers of New York were reduced to rubbles.
Ten years ago, I was sitting in the 5th grade. My teacher was trying to explain to us what just happened. I didn’t really understand much, so I just daydreamed. However, towards the end of the day, I slowly began to realize the significance of today’s events.
After 10 years, war in the Middle East is still continuing. The economy is still a shithole. Troops are still stationed over there and money is still being wasted. Not much has been done to stop terrorism or alleviate our debit crisis.
After 10 years, Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden were found and killed. Ground Zero had undergone a complete renovation. The new World Trade Centers were erected and memorial sites were constructed.
After 10 years, I entered college and my friend sirxdavid joined the Marines. At first, I thought he was dumb, but then I was glad that he enlisted. After two years of being away from his friends and family, he returned and gave me a Marines guitar pick as a memento that I will always cherish.
Now, pause for a moment of silence for the victims of the 9/11 attack and the troops that faced the casualties of war.
Picture of the new WTC.
More pictures: http://news.yahoo.com/september-11-anniversary/
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