If you have not heard the big news of the past 24 hours you have been living under a rock. Almost a decade after the unspeakable tragedy that was September 11th, 2001 the US Special forces have finally found and killed the man responsible, Osama Bin Laden. I will look back at how that event has changed my life and the lives of all Americans in the past 9+years as well as a strange connection to the date on which Osama was killed.
I will never forget where I was when the attacks began on that tragic Tuesday morning, I was a 6th grader at Sudbrook in Mr. Sakers Math and Science class. The principal comes on asking all teachers to turn on the news where I saw the footage of the World Trade Center in flames and heard that two planes hit the buildings. Not long after we heard and saw the damage done to the Pentagon and in the field in Western PA as well as the collapse of the Two Twin Towers which increased the death toll drastically. Another image burned into my memory is the faces of all the people on the streets of New York watching this horror unfold. Perhaps no image is more memorable for me then the New York Firefighters raising the American Flag at Ground Zero.
Lastly me and my family visited Ground Zero and I will never forget how emotional we all were.
Since that point I have grown and changed so much as I am now a 21 year old College Junior but that day forever altered my life. Besides the increased security and alert as well as the multiple wars that have resulted there are other ways 9-11 changed me and the nation as a whole. As many of you know sports is one of my biggest passions, and while I still say the classic 2001 World Series (D'Backs-Yankees) and the Super Bowl 36 (Pats-Rams) helped the country heal, that tragedy has helped me put the results of sporting events into perspective. Also, I (and many Americans) now don't view every setback or every fight with a friend or family member as a major ordeal or at least in my case I get over it quicker. Furthermore, that event has made me appreciate my friends, family, and amazing experiences that I have in my life as I now see I could lose it all at any moment. Lastly, 9-11 has made me, and many other Americans, a lot more patriotic and a lot more grateful for the work our Military puts in everyday defending our freedom.
Ironically, Osama's death came on the same day 66 years after Hitler was declared dead. Also, yesterday was Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Rememberance day, when we remember and honor the 6 million Jews who lost their life in that unthinkable tragedy. Like 9-11 this tragedy has greatly impacted my life in a number of ways. I am a first generation American on My Dad's side, in fact many of my dad's family members were killed in the Holocaust and he was born in a displaced persons camp after the war. Also even though both of his parents survived their lives were shortened and greatly hindered by the Holocaust so much so that I never really knew either one.
This tragedy has forever changed my life and my family's life in a number of ways. First of all, I truly appreciate my family that I do know everyday because I don't know much about my ancestry. Also, I am extremly proud to be a Jew and try to live my life in a way that honors my family and my religion. This involves carrying on traditions that my dad learned from his parents such as keeping some kosher laws even while living on a college campus. Along with that I have been to countless holocaust related museums in many nations (Netherlands, Argentina, and Israel) and everytime I get incredibly emotional and the visits are always tough. For instance, when I went to the Holocaust memorial in Amsterdam they had a list of names of Dutch people who were killed in the Holocaust and I saw people with my last name and was on the verge of tears. I then called my dad to find out if we had any Dutch ancestry and he could not tell me definitivly, showing me how little I know about my past. Thus despite the fact the Holocaust occured 45 years before I was born it has changed both my life and the lives of Jewish young adults everywhere.
In closing both 9-11 and the Holocaust have forever changed me as they made realize what is truly important in life: Family, friends, and my health. That being said to all my family and friends I care about each one of you and am so lucky to have you in my life.
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