September 11, 2001: From the eyes of an 8 year old American child...

It has been 9 years since the day that changed my world. I realize now that not everyone had the exact same experience or even feels similarly about it. But like any tragic event healing takes time and understanding takes even longer. And to aid in that process for others and myself I'd like to share my view of what happened, something that isn't as hard as I once thought it would be.

Tuesday, September 11, 2001, I woke up excited for the beginning of another 3rd grade day. I got to school, ordered my lunch and then the teacher set us to working on something. But with the attention span of most of 8 year-olds we were quickly into whispering and half working on the assignment. When the phone rang or ADD kicked in and everyone looked up to see who would get to go home. (The usual cause of a phone ringing) Then our teacher turned her back and began whispering herself and questioning the caller. Next thing we knew all three doors opened as the other 4 teachers came in to conference. Then we got one of the best announcements ever. Movie time! All five 3rd grade class met in the common room and a teacher brought out the TV to put on a movie. When the TV first went on it tuned to the local news channel which had the first tower burning and then we all watched as the second plane hit, over and over it went until one of the teachers managed to jump in front of the screen and do jumping-jacks to distract us. But we had all seen it. Why was that tiny thing flying into the building? How would the firefighters get up that high? (Only blocks are capable of collapsing in the eyes of 8 year-olds).
After the movie started one by one kids started getting called to go to the front because their parents were there to pick them up. When I got home my Dad was there, which was the strangest thing, but who doesn't want to play with Dad? It wasn't until several days had passed that I put the whole picture together, and I wouldn't know the world, or begin to grasp the national impact, until a couple years. The best part of that week for me is not Monday, when the world was perfect and full of people that loved each other, but Saturday when I found out that I had gotten one of the most beautiful little sisters.

The most important idea that I took from this experience was the idea that the world has evil people in it that actually wanted to hurt me. I had of course grown up hearing and knowing stories of oppression of various peoples but it had always been in the abstract. Something that had only happened in the past and to misunderstood people. But here in the present someone had purposefully flown planes into two buildings that stood on the shore of my favorite country, and in doing so had been trying to hurt me, and it did hurt, still does. For some people this realization, probably would have brought them down, and I suppose that it is depressing if you think about it, but not to me. Not for me. In my world, we make our own happiness no matter what is thrown at us, and I encourage all of you as you reflect on this day and all that it means for you in your life, that you remember that happiness and joy come from within , not from without. Find peace in yourself, and with everything you do everyday, and as the saying goes it'll all work out in the end, and if it hasn't worked out, it's not the end!