Generation Y after Sept. 11, 2001

On September 11, 2001, a lot of things changed.

Ten years ago, all of The Rocket staff members were between 10 and 20 years old, most on the younger side.

On that day, our worlds were shattered. Everything was turned upside down. Our safety had been compromised.

That day, we were sitting in our elementary school classrooms, bored, feeling like it was just another ordinary day.

One by one, parents came to pick up our friends and take them home. We were being kept in the dark, too young to understand what was happening.

Some of us had teachers that believed we needed to know. So, they rolled a television set into the classroom and let us watch the news as it was unraveling.

We watched those airplanes strike the World Trade Center. We heard that another plane hit the Pentagon. And yet another went down in Shanksville, Pa., not far from where we are now.

It looked like a movie. Something we couldn't wrap our heads around. But we watched the adults, crying and falling apart around us, clearly shaken by the attacks.

The school day ended, and we rode the bus home. The streets were almost empty. Everyone was inside, watching the news.

From that day on, our lives were changed forever.

An event like that changes a nation, even a generation.

We can say with certainty that the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 shaped who we are today, every one of us. Those events shaped Generation Y.

Airport security is now tighter and stronger than it ever was before.

No liquid can be in a container larger than three ounces.

Everyone must go through a metal detector and in some airports, must have a full-body scan done.

There is no cheating the security gates.

All of this sounds like a hassle. But the truth is it makes us safer. Or at the very least, it makes us feel safer.

Osama Bin Laden became a household name in America starting on Sept. 11, 2001.

Wars were started in the name of ending terrorism and finding Bin Laden.

Finally, on May 1, 2011, Bin Laden was killed in a compound in Pakistan.

"Justice has been done," President Barack Obama said that night.

As a nation, we celebrated the victory. Bin Laden had been in hiding for almost ten years, trying to outrun the United States and its allies. And we finally got him.

For most of our lives, Generation Y has been surrounded by news of Bin Laden, acts of terrorism and the war on terror.

In elementary school, we said the Pledge of Allegiance every day. We stood there, with our hands over our hearts, mumbling the words without really thinking about them. After 9/11, we will always think about those words.

Toby Keith released a song in May of 2002 called "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)."

The song was inspired by the events of Sept. 11, and it became one of the many anthems for America.

Keith wrote "Now this nation that I love has fallen under attack/A mighty sucker punch came flyin' in from somewhere in the back/Soon as we could see it clearly through our big black eye/Man we lit up your world like the 4th of July."

Those words echoed the feelings of Americans across the country, and still do.

If there is a silver lining on the tragic and unforgettable events of Sept. 11, 2001, it's the unification of the entire country through patriotism.

There were flags up and down the streets, in almost everyone's front yard.

The radio stations were playing songs like Keith's and "God Bless the U.S.A." by Lee Greenwood.

We were united under one goal, fighting back.

Forever, Generation Y will be marked with an increased sense of patriotism, a stronger love for the country we call home.