By Luke Feeney

As the anniversary of Sept. 11 approaches, we remember all the brave and innocent men and women who lost their lives 17 years ago. For a person my age, when I first was taught about the events that occurred on that day, it didn’t really sink in what happened. I was just too young to understand the effect that the day had on our country and what terrorism was. As I got older and learned more and more about that day by watching documentaries and reading articles, I began to realize what effect it had on our country. I now realize that it completely changed our everyday lives.

Changed Lives

We now live with the daily threat of terrorism. When I take the subway to school, an armed military officer is a common sight. It changed so many peoples lives – from families who had one member missing that night, to firehouses that lost many of their members, to very strong friendships lost, to even just people who worked in the area who thought, “that could have been me.”

Every American Was Affected

The truth is that no New Yorker or American was unaffected by Sept. 11, even if they were not born for it because we are still feeling the effects of that day today. I think our world still has a lot of healing to do. We need to unite together so we can continue to move forward. Terrorism is a scary thing. For people my age, we really didn’t know a world before it. The only way to fight terrorism is to try our best to live our lives without fear and have faith in God.

Feeney is a sophomore at Xavier H.S., Manhattan, and attends Resurrection Church, Gerritsen Beach.