How much are high schoolers really able to remember things from their early days of elementary school? Typical flashbacks consist of various field days, chorus concerts, and favorite birthday parties. Yet, many important historical dates are often overlooked; such as September 11th, 2001.

    Most high school students might not be able to recall the specifics of the horrific events that took place that day. Freshman Devin Gantt said, “My family remembers it but not me.”

    Yet, it has clearly impacted the nation in unprecedented ways. Airports have become virtually impossible to maneuver with ease and every public event in a city is now accompanied with high security.

    As a nation, the United States has been greatly affected by the terror that Al Qaeda brought on that dreadful day. More recently, the United States has also been impacted by the terrorist attack at the 2013 Boston Marathon.

    This year’s Boston Marathon was not full of the anticipated motivation and inspiration for runners around the world, as in years past. Rather than being proud of the accomplishments of  the marathon runners, the nation instead was forced to witness the terrible bombings at the finish line whenever they tuned  in to the news.

    Unlike September 11th, this generation will forever be able to remember the dreadful events of the 2013 Boston Marathon. As adolescents, students are more aware of the problems that face the nation, and understand the severity of such an event. It will be impossible to forget such a tragic day full of fear and anxiety.

    Shannon Dunn, a junior in Guatemala at the time of the attack said ,“being in a different country and experiencing it was scary.”

    Although the Boston Marathon will now be associated with the violent bombs created by domestic terrorists, there are some lessons to be learned.  Americans are now well aware that relations with terrorist organizations are not improving and that actions must be taken to insure the safety of Americans.

    In contrast, the country can also be proud of the valiant courage of first responders and civilians alike that saved lives that day. There are definitely some lessons to be learned from the incredible bravery  that the heroes of the day acted with.

    The pride in Boston was clearly demonstrated with the “Boston Strong” and “Boston Pride” logos that spread throughout the country through various types of media in the days and weeks following the bombings. This sense of national unity really brought the country together to support Boston and the victims of the Marathon bombings. The same type of unity was felt after 9/11 as well, but should really be felt all the time in a strong country such as the United States.

    Both the terrorist attacks on New York and Boston in the past few years have provided the United States with a sense of how it truly feels to be part of a great nation; ready to unite together to defend safety and security.

    As this modern generation grows up in a new age of tense relations between foreign countries and various terrorists, it becomes more important to take a look at “the bigger picture” and see that this is history in the making. The choices that the American government makes today will be read about in the history books of the future.