OH+Reflection


 * Oral History Topic:** The World Trade Center and Pentagon Attacks of 9/11: From the Eyes of a New Yorker

**Interview Subject:** Lori Kahn (my mother)

Prior to conducting the interview with my mom, I felt as though I was pretty knowledgeable on the attacks on the World Trade Center. After all, I was with my mom when all of this happened and she had told me about it many times before. However, the interview opened my eyes to the things I had missed or hadn't paid attention to as a four year old New Yorker. I can still vividly remember my mom taking my friends and I out of school (I thought it was a fire drill); then, we ran to our apartment building, where I could see by babysitter of in the distance waiting for us to return. As we watched the footage of the attacks, I distinctly remember the countless replays of the strike and the Twin Towers engulfed in flames. Following these events, I recall going to a ceremony for the firemen who payed the ultimate price, our entire community filling the sidewalk singing patriotic hymns. Indeed, I also recollect the smoke shrouded skyline of Manhattan, a sight that could be seen for weeks and months after what had occurred. Listening to my mother, though, allowed me to look at the events from a standpoint of someone who actually knew what was going on and could process the horrific events right at that moment. I cannot say that I remember how other people reacted or how the media covered the attacks, as I can only remember the sadness as trepidation I felt. Yet she was able to elucidate the reactions of the surrounding New Yorkers and the paranoia that everyone had in their minds.

What had never occurred to me before the interview was how it changed many peoples' perspectives of our nation. I do remember the solemnity of the entire city, but to me, it was only a matter of moths before everything returned to normalcy. But no, that was not the case. 9/11 had resounding long term effect on everyone, man or woman, adult or child, no matter your race, religion, or social status. This interview, full of details of the traumatic event themselves to how everyone was affected poses some important questions as well. I can only imagine what the story would be like for someone who had gone through the events, or someone forced to make such dramatic changes to our society to prevent further attacks. How would their opinions be different if at all? How could we, as a nation, let this happen? Events such as 9/11 put our nation in such a vulnerable position that it is extremely hard to regroup. These incidents brought us closer together as an American people through our attempts to rebuild what had been destroyed and to mend the lives of many. Despite all the hardships, 9/11 has created many new programs and ideals regarding security and patriotism that allow for our nation to flourish into the future, and for that, I am grateful to the American people to overcome such trying obstacles and to face adversity with strength and courage.