One can change the world.
Do you doubt that one person can change the world? Do you doubt that one day can change the world? I see no reason to doubt this belief. When I think about September 11, 2001, I think of all the change that occured from one day. It was a day full of devastating events for friends and family members that were killed or injured. I remember waking up and my mom telling me something horrible happened. I truly didn't understand why it was important. I was in 5th grade, so I didn't understand the significance. I think I finally started to understand in high school when I met my friend Shabnam. She told me about her life and she seemed so similar to me. She was muslim and she had similar religious standards to me. I could only see how she was similar to me. I didn't understand how people would treat her differently. They treated her like she was the enemy sometimes.
I remember airport security becoming more strict. People started complaining because they had to minimize their liquids and go through more screening to be safe. I remember hatred becoming strong in both directions. Profile stereotyping became more prevalent. If you even looked muslim, then they would double check. Even if you had been born in the country, then they would still mistrust you. Individual rights were removed for the sake of national security. There were lots of changes that came from this day. I remember families were affected. Families bonded and became more religious. Easter sunday families became weekly sunday families. Family relationships became important as loss brought individuals together. The whole nation became close. Funny how loss brought everyone together. Hard times are beneficial in that it makes people think about what is really important in life. Individuals re-evaluate their priorities and make change to become better people.
I saw both points of view from my friend Shabnam and from the news. I knew people who had immediate family members die, yet I saw my friend Shabnam treated horribly because she was muslim. I think the main thing I learned was the importance of understanding and not assuming information to be true. I could of judged my friend Shabnam like my high school classmates, but I decided to get to know her story. I am so grateful for my experience to have her as my friend. She changed my world. I loved our conversations because it opened up my eyes to a brand new world. I remember going to her birthday celebration and eating lamb. I had never had lamb before, but I remember her family forcing it on my plate. They told me to try to everything. Let me tell you, I did try everything. I don't know if I liked everything, but I tried to. I learned how to belly dance, and we danced in front of the woman. The men and woman were separate even if they were married. The men played cards and smoked, while the women talked and danced for each other. It was so opposite to my culture that I was fascinated by her family. I remember eating at her place several times and getting to know her families values. They asked me lots of questions and those were some of my favorite memories of my high school.
So when I think of September 11th, I think of Shabnam and I think of misunderstanding. I think of walking down the hall with my friend and having people judge her. I think of hearing about families father's pass away as they tried to jump off the building as they crashed down. It was such a sad event that changed everything.
The more experience and friendships I have had, the more I have learned about the importance of change. September 11th brought change to America. Some change wasn't beneficial but some change was necessary for the country to grow stronger together. Would the country be separated if September 11th hadn't happened?
I remember airport security becoming more strict. People started complaining because they had to minimize their liquids and go through more screening to be safe. I remember hatred becoming strong in both directions. Profile stereotyping became more prevalent. If you even looked muslim, then they would double check. Even if you had been born in the country, then they would still mistrust you. Individual rights were removed for the sake of national security. There were lots of changes that came from this day. I remember families were affected. Families bonded and became more religious. Easter sunday families became weekly sunday families. Family relationships became important as loss brought individuals together. The whole nation became close. Funny how loss brought everyone together. Hard times are beneficial in that it makes people think about what is really important in life. Individuals re-evaluate their priorities and make change to become better people.
I saw both points of view from my friend Shabnam and from the news. I knew people who had immediate family members die, yet I saw my friend Shabnam treated horribly because she was muslim. I think the main thing I learned was the importance of understanding and not assuming information to be true. I could of judged my friend Shabnam like my high school classmates, but I decided to get to know her story. I am so grateful for my experience to have her as my friend. She changed my world. I loved our conversations because it opened up my eyes to a brand new world. I remember going to her birthday celebration and eating lamb. I had never had lamb before, but I remember her family forcing it on my plate. They told me to try to everything. Let me tell you, I did try everything. I don't know if I liked everything, but I tried to. I learned how to belly dance, and we danced in front of the woman. The men and woman were separate even if they were married. The men played cards and smoked, while the women talked and danced for each other. It was so opposite to my culture that I was fascinated by her family. I remember eating at her place several times and getting to know her families values. They asked me lots of questions and those were some of my favorite memories of my high school.
So when I think of September 11th, I think of Shabnam and I think of misunderstanding. I think of walking down the hall with my friend and having people judge her. I think of hearing about families father's pass away as they tried to jump off the building as they crashed down. It was such a sad event that changed everything.
The more experience and friendships I have had, the more I have learned about the importance of change. September 11th brought change to America. Some change wasn't beneficial but some change was necessary for the country to grow stronger together. Would the country be separated if September 11th hadn't happened?
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