9/11/2001 is a day that will live
in infamy. 9/11 is a day that not only
shook the roots of America, but made everyone in the world questioned
themselves and their leaders. How can
something this awful happen to this many innocent people? Who would perpetrate such horrifying acts and
why? These questions still float around
today regarding the attacks.
I was 7
years old when terrorists attacked the American home front for the first time
since Pearl Harbor. I really didn’t know
how to react to the attacks at such a young age. I obviously felt very sad, but I also very
confused. I didn’t know who these people
were or why they decided to attack us, but I did know that it was a truly
gut-wrenching attack. Over the years I never
really knew how to reflect or remember the events that took place that
day. To some people, it was a day about
remembering the loves ones lost and to others it was a salute to the heroes that
helped save thousands of lives.
When I started
school at Penn State, I realized that I would have an opportunity to remember
9/11 in a different way. I attended the
play “9/11-A Day in the Life of a People”.
It was put on by a theatre class here.
The play was really interesting because it didn’t talk about the
historical event itself, but rather showed how it affected the lives of
everyday people. Some of the most
interesting people portrayed in the play were a firefighter, a nurse and a
soldier. Each had varying points of view
about the attacks that occurred that day.
These people really stood out to me because they had extremely powerful
and emotional actions that made you feel as if you were right next to them
during the attacks.
The
emotions of each person were completely different. The nurse was truly confused as to what was
going on, constantly asking “Why are they attacking us? What did we do?”. The events of 9/11 were very confusing because
they all happened so quickly and abruptly.
You could feel the confusion from her the entire time, but her confusion
did not hood back her passion for trying to help out. She went out of her way to help others in
need that day.
The
soldier was another person that stood out to me because of his actions that
day. It was interesting to hear that he
felt that they could have stopped the attacks if they had more time. This is a really interesting point because
you have to wonder how that affects him today.
Many people feel guilt after things like this, even though it wasn’t their
fault at all. I also thought that the
soldier was extremely patriotic saying that he would not stop fighting for this
country. He wanted to find Osama Bin-Laden
and provide the justice that America needed.
He was truly inspirational.
I
thought that the firefighter who was directly involved in the rescue of the
people in the World Trade Center was a true American hero. He talked about how he had to carry up heavy
equipment up the steps because the elevators weren’t working. He put his life on the line to save
others. His selflessness is what defines
him as a true hero. It was inspirational
when I heard what people were saying to him as he walked up the steps; “Don’t
go up there! It’s about to get bad!” and he only responded “It’s my job”. People like this are the true embodiment of
what this country strives to be.
Overall
this play was very well done. When you
think of 9/11, you think of the images of the Towers, the sadness and how
America responded. We don’t always
think of the everyday people whose lives were changed forever by these
events. It was interesting and
awe-inspiring to see what everyday people did to help their fellow man and
country. On a day like this, where there
is so much confusion, people could have acted very selfishly (rightfully so, to
save their own life), but they did not.
These people are true American heroes; selfless, caring and strong
willed. The play was very well done and I
would recommend it to anybody, as it takes on a new perspective of a historical
event.
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