9/11: The Generation Gap

I remember September 11 2001 vividly.

Actually, just 2 years before, my 8th grade class took a tour of the Towers. I'll never forget the feeling of being on the tower's top floor Observation Deck, taking pictures and looking at the streets below from 90+ floors high. Later, on 9/11, these memories would come back in an unsettling way.

As a junior in high school I was elated to be staying home (there was a fire in the school's kitchen).  I had fallen asleep the night before with the radio on, which was not uncommon, and woke up to the DJ's on Jammin' 94.5 talking about how a plane had hit the World Trade Center.

I remember laying in bed thinking about how odd that was...the weather in Rhode Island was perfect- clear blue skies, light breeze and the sun was shining. Even the DJ's thought it was odd. At first, everyone thought it was a small passenger plane that somehow flew off course or lost control. The most serious thing we had to worry about at that time was whether a Republican or Democrat was going to be President- truly, there were no big threats and it was a great time to be 16 in a world full of optimism and opportunity. So I did what any 16 year old would do. I went back to sleep.

Waking up a few minutes later and slowly getting out of bed, I turned on the TV out of curiosity to see what was on the news. That's when I, along with many others, watched as we saw a second plane fly into the unharmed Twin Tower.

Wow. I'll never forget that feeling of shock and the shakiness in the reporters' voices. I think I was shaking too. I sat there staring- numb, confused. At that time it was obvious that this was an intentional attack. No one knew from who or why. It didn't matter from who or why...all that mattered was it was a planned, intentional, pre-meditated attack on our soil. Comparisons were quickly made to Pearl Harbor.

I sat there glued to the TV. What was going on? Time passed....then came the plane into the Pentagon, the collapse of the South tower, the crash in Pennsylvania and finally the North tower collapse. I watched each and every one of those on live TV, minute by minute, along with millions of other Americans. It was really, really heavy and difficult to process all the details.

It's crazy to think of how your world (and everyone's world, literally and figuratively) can change in an instant. I cried on 9/11/01 after the towers fell. The loss of life was the main reason; I remember watching the news and the reporters talking about how people were jumping to their deaths to avoid being burned alive. Jumping from the very same windows that I looked out of just 2 years before.

But in the back of my mind, I knew that the world had changed for those of us who would remember 9/11 for years to come.

This was a defining moment of my generation. At 16 years old, 9/11/01 had a profound effect on my worldview. It was no longer just America; not just politics; not just the 4th of July anymore. Everything took on a different meaning. Now, America was just a piece of the international puzzle. Politics shifted from economic rhetoric to national defense. The 4th of July wasn't just a time to have a cookout, it was a time to remember lost lives and those who protect our country.

For me, there were now two Americas.

My mom came home from work that afternoon and we had to go to the mall to get some new shoes for school. I'll never forget how empty the roads were. It was eerie.

The title of this post is "Generation Gap". Some of the girls on our basketball roster were only 8 at the time of the attacks. High schoolers have no memory of the events. I find myself wondering what impact 9/11 has on the new generations- the generations that have studied 9/11 in textbooks and watched documentaries.

Can they clearly define the moment when their life changed? When the world changed? When, at one moment, America was indestructible, war and mass violence were things from history books...and the next, the world was an unpredictable, dangerous place with a questionable future?

I experienced two America's- the ideal, picturesque and peaceful America pre-9/11.  Then, the uncertain, interconnected and fragile America brought on after the attacks.

My sarcasm for patriotism has disappeared and my appreciation for the troops has grown. My awareness of our interconnectedness as people of the world has increased. And, most of all, I do not take our freedom, our lives, and our safety for granted. I hope those that do not remember 9/11 will have those thoughts and more taught to them from those of us who were there.