When I was 4 years old, I woke up just like any other kid wanting to do nothing but play. But when I woke up something was different. This is my first memory as a child: I remember walking into my parents room with my dad holding my mom while she was doing nothing but screaming and crying. As I looked at my parents TV all I could see was a building in flames. I didn't understand it at the time, but I saw how much agony my mom was in to know that this was an act of evil and it wasn't an accident.
My mom is a flight attendant and was supposed to be on the first plane that crashed into the Twin Towers, but her best friend took her place because my mom had been injured. This is my first memory as a child: my mom crying about all the friends she had lost as a result of September 11, 2001. My father's uncle also died in these attacks, so my family has a very strong connection with 9/11.
The only long-term relationship I've ever been in is with terrorist attacks. My generation and myself have been exposed to terrorist attacks our whole lives and they have been happening so frequently now it's to the point that we're not even shocked, but consistently disgusted.
Everyone is connected with a terrorist attack, whether they knew a family member, a friend or even a friend of a family member. We are all connected somehow, and that's why it is so devastating to us. When an attack happens, you remember exactly where you were and what you were doing at the time.
During the Boston Marathon bombings, I had been in driver's ed, only to go home to my mom freaking out on the TV because my dad was at the marathon. We didn't hear from him for hours.
My father, a Boston firefighter, was stationed right by the attacks at the time on Boylston Street. He was a Navy SEAL and said he hadn't seen anything like those attacks in a long time. He described it as a "war zone."
The entire city of Boston called a state of emergency, and my dad could not leave work. Since he works for the city, he had no choice. Knowing my dad was stuck at work was the worst feeling since someone who caused so much damage near him was out there.
These attacks have become more frequent as years went on. I am disgusted that the time period I live in will go down in history books as a time where a terrorist attack or a mass shooting occurred every other week. Every day I feel like I am turning on the news to a terrorist attack, a mass shooting or some act of hate.
We live in a time where people are taking away lives due to social differences. There are people out there who actually think they are doing justice and proving a point by ending not just one, but multiple lives.
I don't think politicians understand how wrong this is. My generation has grown up seeing terrorist attacks so frequent, and no we're not starting to get used to it. There are people out there who don't value the gift of a life, and by ending them sparks a political message.
