Today is Sept 11th, I was trying to decide what to write.. I could ignore it, but that didn't seem right, I could address it but, would I trigger an issues for a reader? I decided that I needed to write down my story too, so if this is going to be a trigger for you, you have been warned!
9/11/2001 The events of that day changed a nation and the lives of many Americans, including mine.
I was just waking up( I was a teen), about to get ready for school when my parents walked in and turned on the TV. We hadn't lived in Alaska long, in fact, we had flown up early, we were supposed to have flown on September 11th. I am very thankful that we had already moved into housing.
I remember seeing the news, then watching in horror as the second plane hit, then the plane that flew into the pentagon. I couldn't comprehend what was happening. I ended up going back to bed. I couldn't function, I think many of my friends also skipped school that day.
I lived on a military installation. I knew that this horrifying event was going to change our "world", it did. I think even then, before many people had the thought what it might mean for our country, war, that every military family knew that it was possible /probable. One of my first thoughts was "Dad is going to deploy again!! He didn't, he ended up being the Chaplain who was there for the families of the deployed soldiers.
There was a ton of prayer, and many tears. People were still trying to connect with loved ones in the lower 48. There were phone calls and limited internet due to the high usage. We were all affected, everyone knew someone.
The security was SOO high , the world(military) that I had grown up with changed overnight. Suddenly there were barricades in front of buildings, there were more ID checks, there was limited access to post. If you didn't need to be there, you couldn't enter. There were drills and training on what to do if the worst case scenario happened. We all became more aware of everything, suddenly the gates were more reassuring. I knew they weren't perfect but they made me feel more confident. Some of these changes are still in affect, others have been lessened,but still exists.
Yes, our world did change because of 9/11 and we will never forget, there has been discussion online today about how do teachers approach the subject. Its my opinion that it should be approached with dignity and respect, understanding and maturity. BUT it is something that needs to be addressed. Someone once said " if you don't know history then you are doomed to repeat it". 9/11 changed the course of History, we the people who are living now have a responsibility to make sure it is a good story in the end.
Yes, I listed a ton of negatives, but from 9/11 came some positives too. People got to know their neighbors, patriotism became recognizable again, Flags flew proudly, the military got strong, and Faith in God increased. So yes, it was a dark day in history, but the Light shone through the darkness and overcame it.
Pax
