| The day was September 11, 2001. That day would change my life forever. I felt sorry for all the families who lost their loved ones. They either lost their family in the twin towers, the Pentagon, or even the Pennsylvania field. I was just glad that my family was safe. I woke up and saw my mom in front of the television. She said that a plane crashed into one of the twin towers. I watched as the second plane flew into the second twin tower. I was terrified. I watched the rest of the tragic news as it came. When I saw President Bush giving a speech, I felt safer. This is part of his speech about what happened on 9/11. “Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government's emergency response plans. Our military is powerful, and it's prepared. Our emergency teams are working in New York City and Washington, D.C. to help with local rescue efforts. Our first priority is to get help to those who have been injured, and to take every precaution to protect our citizens at home and around the world from further attacks.”
This is how violence has changed my life forever. When I try to get on a plane they search from head to toe. A few months after 9/11 my family had to go pick up my cousins at the airport. I was so scared when they didn’t come off the plane right away as I saw a few men that looked like they had done something wrong. After a few minutes my three cousins finally came off the plane. I was so relieved. I used to love flying, but after 9/11 I feared getting on planes.
Violence is not just an airplane being crashed into a building. It is the day to day events that shape our lives. An example of day-to-day violence that affected me involved my brother. I will never forget my brother’s screams. My mom ran outside to see that one of our ten year old neighbors was trying to hang my brother from a tree. This neighbor was a kid that was younger than my brother but he was much bigger. He liked to bully my brother but this went too far. We stopped him, but then he ran off. Another day his little brother was spitting on us while we rode our bikes. We were so mad that we wanted to do something but we didn’t. We moved shortly after that and now are happy with our neighbors. This is another form of violence that has affected my life.
One might ask what causes violence. One of the causes of violence is jealousy. You could get jealous if someone is popular or looks good. If someone has something that you don’t have but you want, that is also a type of jealousy. You might want to cause harm to that person. Peer pressure is also a cause of violence. A group of people could make you feel like you’re a bad person and tell you they will not be your friend if you don’t do what they say.
Drugs can be a cause of violence too. I was watching the news when they said there had been an accident. I listened more and they said that a drunk driver had hit another car. The passenger in the other car had been killed but the drunk driver survived. It has caught my attention that the innocent driver always gets killed but the drunk driver never does.
One of the ways I can prevent violence is to report the violence right when it happens. At school I saw a fight so I reported it to my principal. The two kids got suspended. People should not start violence in the first place, and then violence will never happen. I can donate clothes or money to the victims of a hurricane or tsunami. You can also put yourself in the person’s shoes who is getting bullied. You can help them out and calm them down. You can stop the fight by doing this. These are just a few ways you can prevent violence. Will you make a difference? |
