Today has been such a lazy day. I haven't done any of my homework, but I'll get all of that out of the way in the next two to three days so I can enjoy the last half of my Spring Break.
What I have done is sit in my bed watching Remember Me. Say what you want about Robert Pattinson in Twilight. I've heard all the jokes, and I even agree with some of them. But Rob in Remember Me? Ugh. Such a good effing movie. It makes me bawl like a baby every single time. Today I restrained from screaming at my screen in an attempt to warn his character. I call that progress.
But after that I got on YouTube and started watching 9/11 videos. I've seen documentaries here and there but some of the videos that I watched today were so raw that it felt like I was actually witnessing the events in person, and like they were happening right now and not over a decade ago. I think the saddest one for me was a recording of a 9-1-1 phone call. The man's name was Kevin and for about 5 minutes he's on the line with the emergency operator just telling her he's on the 100th something floor in so and so's office. She tries to calm him down but he isn't having any of it. He starts screaming at her that she's able to say all of that because she's in an air conditioned building and she can see, where as he isn't and he can't. The recording is paired up with a video of the towers just after the planes hit. They're both smoking. Kevin keeps on saying how the situation up there is getting worse and worse. He says he's a young guy and he isn't ready to die. He says just minutes before he had called his wife and told her he was on his way home and how she must think he's okay. Then, as you hear Kevin shout, "Oh, God" you see the first tower collapse and the line goes dead.
I think everyone remembers where they were on that day. I was in the 4th grade. A couple of days a week all of the kids in the gifted program would meet up to do whatever it is we were supposed to be doing. I think we were reading Hatchet, or some other book that was supposed to be way beyond our years and get our brilliant young minds going. I think they said something over the intercom about everyone turning their TVs on. I remember the images, but I didn't really understand what I was seeing. I didn't know what a terrorist was. And why would someone do all of this on purpose? It all looked so scary. I also remember my teacher's eyes were brimming with unshed tears. That's when I knew this was really bad. My brother and I were some of the many children checked out of school early. When we got home it was all any channel was talking about. I remember hearing people screaming and crying on the news. I remember seeing people running away from the area surrounding the buildings, while police men and fire fighters ran towards them.
I get really angry when people tell me I'm not American. My parents are both Hispanic, and I love and cherish that part of my culture, but I was born here. I have more pride inside of me for this place than I ever will anywhere else. I don't mind it when my friends make stereotypical jokes, I actually think they're funny, and that it's okay because I know they're messing with me and that I can crack a joke at their expense right back. But when someone I don't even know or doesn't know me is seriously telling me I'm not American because I'm not white - like, STFU dude. Even my parents embrace the being American thing. They've lived here more than anywhere else. And although they love traveling back to Guatemala, this is their home now. There's a little American flag right outside by our front door.
I don't know why I wanted to write about, or where I thought I was going with this. Or even how to wrap up the post from here.
I'm in a sorority - that's pretty American. I'll leave y'all with one of my 100,00+ sisters, Carrie Underwood. My favorite part of the video is at 2:22-23ish, just saying.
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