9/11 - Reflections of a new New Yorker

10 years ago, in Las Vegas, I was on my way to middle school when I first heard news about a plane hitting one of the World Trade Center towers. My dad always had NPR on the radio, and we heard that a plane had hit the building. I remember thinking, along with many others, wow... what a horrible accident. There must be a faulty radar. During the same car ride, we heard about the second plane hitting the second tower. Now, this is when most of the country probably knew that we were under attack, but me? Wow...they need to fix that radar really soon. You see, at that moment, I had thought that America was invincible.

 We went on with class throughout much of the day. During PE, I learned that one of the towers had collapsed, but only by word. There were rumors that the news of the collapse were rumors. Everything just felt like a story. It was during my last class, when we turned on the TV, when I could somewhat understand the significance of this attack. The Pentagon has been attacked too? What's the Pentagon? And a plane crashed in Pennsylvania? We are really under attack?

 My teacher said, "This will change the history of America."

 It did change America, and it changed how I viewed this country. It was a breaking point of innocence and naivety, but the story of 9/11 was just a chapter in a history book.

 Little did I know that I would end up in the very city that experienced this attack.

 People here remember 9/11 in very different ways. As we sat at a dinner table one evening, a conversation about 9/11 brought back memories for several people. One friend had been in school, right across from the World Trade Center when it was attacked. She had seen her classmates cry and lose parents in that attack. Another did not have a very pleasant look on her face. You could tell that she was feeling some pain. After a few quiet minutes, we learned that she had lost a friend in the attack. In the office on Friday, a rather quiet coworker, who happens to be Mayor Giuliani's cousin, sent out a very long, but passionate reflection on 9/11. I guess it hit him deeply.

 I could see it in the streets too. As I got off of my subway stop in Times Square, I ran into a random search station. I saw police cars lined up all across 42nd street with sirens on, and officers with vigilant eyes. I wouldn't say that we are scared; New Yorkers hate to say that they are scared. We are not scared, but we are very aware that we are not invincible.

 I'm sitting here at work, and I should be working, but I find the significance of this day too powerful to think straight. Instead of making slides and finishing this project, I'm listening to the names being read at the 9/11 Commemoration and thinking about the people who've lost their lives.

 I'm beginning to feel like a New Yorker.
 God Bless America :-)