Moments in History

Most newsworthy events in my lifetime:
9/11: I remember being in my third grade English class when I heard the news. I remember my teacher crying when the principal announced the details over the PA system. My peers and I were perhaps too small to receive any instant impact from the event, however, that would come later. My friends' parents were taking them home early because they were afraid of other attacks. There was talk of an invasion going around as well as sleeper agents and assassinations. I was too young to comprehend just how large of a scale everything was becoming. All I remember is that the school principal decided that the best and safest thing to do was to come together and continue working and so did the rest of the country

Hurricane Katrina: I thought I knew about hurricanes. They seemed like little more than bad sea storms before Katrina hit. I remember watching the morning news day after day. The images of the rapid wind and rain had little affect on me at the moment. I thought that it would be just like any other hurricane that hit the gulf. Then, all at once, my predictions and conceptions cracked and flooded with the news of the broken levees. All of a sudden, the streets of the crescent city were no longer visible. They became replaced by the rushing brown waters riddled with debris. To this day the image of the disaster that gets me the most is a camera shot from the side of a news helicopter that shows the Superdome. The roof panels of one of the largest football stadiums in the country were scared and torn. Sections of the gargantuan building were ripped off completely. However, every time I visit the great city I am pleased to be in a state of disbelief. Regardless of the hard times, the good people of New Orleans still pack the streets of the French Quarter each night and celebrate whatever there is to be celebrated. "How far off is Saint Patrick's Day? Two and a half weeks? Alright then, let's have a preliminary parade tonight! Aren't the Italians in our city neat? Lets have an Italian pride parade the next night!". Although New Orleans has endured many hardships, it will continue to happily thrive.

Election to Inauguration of Barack Obama: I remember very few details about this moment in particular. Feelings, however, stand out to me. I remember the irritation I felt when I read Facebook status' such as, "Welcome to the United Socialist States of America! I'm moving to Canada". I also remember the pride I felt when I replied, "Canada is actually socialist". During the inauguration, I was as happy as any teenager not able to vote could possibly be. My mind was filled with thoughts of policy changes and new beginnings for the war in the middle east. However, it wasn't until Obama was taking his oath that it all hit me. I was standing there with my arms around the shoulders of Tyla Daniels And Morgan Bosman and with their arms around mine. It was right about then when I looked to my right and then to my left and realized that I was living through something I would tell my grandchildren about.

Most newsworthy events that my parents have lived through:

Berlin Wall: This was a significant event in the lives of my parents because the events surrounding the Eastern Bloc dominated the news they watched. To them it was as if for years the news reports and protests had built up an intense pressure and when the wall came down, the pressure was instantly released. My parents remember being moved by films and pictures of young people knocking holes in the graffiti covered concrete. They said that images like that made them want to take the next plane to Berlin and become a part of something bigger.

9/11: My parents remember a their frantic phone calls whit each other as they tried to determine what to do with my brother and me. After watching footage of the two fuselages crashing through the towers, they had been stunned. But as the minutes went by, rumors spread of a larger attack or even an invasion. Radio personalities speculated the possibilities of sleeper agents and dormant assassins. Fearing a coordinated strike, my parents called my school and asked if we were safe. My parents argued over whether Andy and I would be safer at home or at school, but eventually, it was decided that we were much safer at school. So my parents waited impatiently for the school day to end and then picked me up.

Inauguration of Barack Obama: My mom remembers watching the event on the projector in Woods Hall. She felt alienated by the massive amount of republicans staring holes in her grinning face. She felt very uncomfortable watching the inauguration with the people she worked with because she knew that they were republicans and she knew what they were thinking about at the moment. She didn't really realize the historical significance of the moment until she directed her gaze downwards towards me. She told me that when she saw me embracing Tyla and Morgan, she teared up at the realization of just how far our society had come.