An Ethnic Student's Thoughts on 9/11

Ten years ago, I remember 7-year-old me running around the house, late for school as usual. As per routine, the television was turned on, tuned to the news channel as always.

Or was it?

Ten years later, I cannot specifically tell you that first instant I heard about the 9/11 attack.

I recall the events blurring together over the course of first few days, from the initial attack to the days following when its gravity began setting in. At the time, I do not think 7-year-old me could even fathom how serious this event was or what impact it would have on me.

Although I do not have a personal connection to the tragedy, the September 11 attack still affected me as a child and now as a teenager. At seven years old, my perception of my world completely changed. My innocence, in a way, was robbed from me. Suddenly, the world I knew was not so peaceful and loving as I had thought.

I had to realize and accept the inevitable truth that, simply put, there were and always will be bad people in this world. “Terrorism” became a new word in my child dictionary.

The consequences of 9/11 have also been frustrating for me. The action of a few, extremist individuals have marred a part of American society’s perception on diversity.

As an Indian, I can somewhat empathize with others of ethnic backgrounds, specifically of Middle Eastern descent, because of the color of my skin. I have heard many racial slurs derived from a generalization of the word “terrorists”.  Having to witness this blatantly obvious ignorance of sorts has made me question the true accepting nature of America.

That being said, I would like to emphasize that I have utmost respect for those lives lost during the attack and those that have been lost while defending our country. I condemn the actions of the terrorists. My heart wrenches when I watch 9/11 documentaries and read about the lives lost. And I too felt a patriotic surge of happiness when I heard that Osama Bin Laden had been killed by our troops. 

I hope that as our country continues to remember and learn from this national tragedy, we will make an effort to understand each others’ differences in order to stand united against those who wish to bring harm upon us.