September 11...

I will never forget where I was on September 11th, 2001.

I was at home in Muscatine. I had gotten up and was trying to check my email when I noticed that I was having problems with our Internet connection. I came downstairs to use the phone and that's when I got a glimpse on the TV of what was going on in New York. I saw the World Trade Center with a huge smoking gaping hole in it. At first, I thought that the fire was going to be put out so I didn't think anything of it. I made my call to the cable company and got back online; checked my email and went back to bed since I didn't have classes that day.

Mom woke me up a little later and told me what had happened in New York, thinking that our Internet went down because of it. She also had another shocker for me: the plan crashes at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, PA. I was immediately wide awake and in a state of shock. I couldn't believe it. Who'd want to attack us? And why? I was soon glued to the TV getting details and updates on the news. It was the first time I ever heard of al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden. They hated our country because of our different lifestyles. I became one of millions of witnesses to what is now called The War on Terrorism.

Once it became clear it was radical Muslims from the Middle East that were responsible, the backlash was horrible. I was sickened when I learned that my former Macro-Economics teacher, John Dabeet--originally from Palestine--was the recipient of death threats because of the incidents. The fear led to hate very quickly and I did my best not to take part in it.

And now ten years later, things are getting better. We're still vigilant, but there is hope that there's a light at the end of this long tunnel. With bin Laden dead, I pray we're close to this war on terror being over sometime soon. But we will never forget what happened that day and the fact that our innocence was lost.

September 11, 2001; I will never forget!

Slan go foill...