Voices of a Shattered Generation

In the late 90's it was common for youngsters to stay out all hours of the day, and night and come home at an agreed-upon time. Without truly knowing what time it was, as we did not have the constant knowledge of time with us as we have now with cell phones. Who really wanted to wear a watch anyways (now we cannot leave home without our smartwatches or Fitbit)? It was a different time we were lucky to have our discman's with the latest Spice Girls, Britney Spears, or NSYNC album jamming in our ears. The nineties were not a time of huge stress for our kids, we didn't have to worry about what our favorite Tik-Toker was doing, or what was streaming on Netflix. We could ride our bikes across the county, and play in the cattle fields, or we could go hang out in the abandoned buildings in town. There were no overtones of terrorism or economic downfall. There was no public outcry of kidnapping and human trafficking. We were in a constant state of bliss, and just living our best lives. The times were full of happiness and adventure, we thought we were young Huckleberry Finns exploring the wilderness of rural Oregon.

As the years progressed, so did the stressors. Nineteen ninety-nine saw us starting high school. This was a whole new world for us suddenly, our classes seemed so serious and intense, our friends were drifting off into their own specialized cliques, our clothes seemed to matter so much more than they did before, and becoming adults seemed to be right around the horizon. Why did we need to change so much in so little time? Why was it so pivotal and crucial that learning about the same United States history we had been learning for eight years was now so deep, and suddenly so important to becoming an adult? Why was it so crucial to know the meaning of so many mathematical equations and operations? Was this what being an adult was all about? were we going to wake up each day, go to work, and be quizzed on American history and math equations? The fear of growing up became so overpowering that we no longer longed to ride our bikes and have adventures, but we longed for a mental break, and someone to take our notes for us. No longer were we the carefree kids of junior high. We were the young adults that were being told that we had to learn this vast amount of information to prepare us to go to college to become contributing members of a society that was booming in the seemingly daily expansion of the technology race.

Sophomore year, 2001 the school year started like most any other, we enrolled in our classes picked our electives, and went about our lives. Then one morning as we were arriving for school, our entire lives changed. The news rang through the hallways that our nation was under attack, no one knew what was happening. Planes were flying into buildings, and our teachers, other faculty, and of course us students were all terrified. What was happening? Where did this come from? Suddenly those standardized tests, and math equations, and geography notes did not matter. We as a generation had been shaken to our core. We had to wake up, as this was the age of a new America. One that was no longer safe, one that was no longer impenetrable. They attacked our largest city and our military headquarters. They attacked the soul of the United States of America and no longer were we able to live in blissful ignorance, it was time to become adults and focus on what we had to do to be American's.