9/11...22 Years Later

September 11th, 2001 was a day that occurred 22 years ago. I remember it better than most days with that much distance between me and them. I was in the eighth grade and in my first class after homeroom (I forget the exact subject) when toward the end I heard a teacher come in and mention to the other that a bomb had gone off in one World Trade Center or a plane had hit it, "Or something." Then in our next class (I think math) we were doing work when another teacher came by to say that a plane had hit the first tower and then another plane had hit the other. From that point, pretty much every class was spent watching television with news about everything going on in the nation. We were all confused, upset, and it was a weird day. Then there was the Pentagon getting crashed into and the other plane that went down Pennsylvania when they fought the hijackers. As it became apparent all this hadn't been some weird accident but was a coordinated terrorist attack the Nation was forever changed by this massively traumatic event. Different generations have, "That thing," that happened which everyone remembers. It can be good, like when we walked on the Moon, or bad, like Pearl Harbor, various infamous assassinations, and so forth. 

For someone such as myself born in 1988, I'd say 9/11 is, "That thing," for me and other Millenials. Now we've got kids learning about it in history books, which is strange to see something I recall discussed by those who didn't even exist yet in the manner of it being, "Old," history. A lot of the World changed after the events of the day as, "That thing," in a generation often brings many ramifications. Now we are here, 22 years later. Some things are better and some are quite worse. That's how things often go with history. I just hope in another 22 years more things will be improved than worse. I think that's what every generation ponders in response to, "That thing," they face.