What life-decisions did you make as a result of 9/11?

In the 29 years I have been on this earth, I can safely say that nothing has altered the path of my life the way September 11, 2001 did. While I didn't work or live in the city or run out to join the military the next day, I did look closer at myself and at my life then I ever had before or ever have since. 9/11 put my whole existence in perspective for me in a matter of moments. I made the decision to drop out of grad school adn do something more meaningful with my life. I made it clear to JT and him to me that we would spend the rest of our lives together. I started saving every dime I had to move to Boston with him to help him realize his dream of finishing college. I took up teaching. I finally found the courage to befriend people. I basically started to live my life for the first time ever. I look back very often and think about how 9/11 changed my life forever. Not just in a sense of security or a lack thereof, but in a sense of my own worth and my own place in the world.

Re: What life-decisions did you make as a result of 9/11?

I decided to leave school in CT and move back home to NY. I couldn't bear the thought of being away from my family.

Re: What life-decisions did you make as a result of 9/11?

no major "changes" specifically.

i am a lot more appreciative of my country, my life, my freedom and this wonderful state i call home. i absolutely love new york and our city. i miss it if i am away for more than a few days - every time i came home from kessler for one reason or another i would play "new york state of mind" as i crossed over the GW bridge. i have always been patriotic but it increased even moreso after 9/11.

Re: What life-decisions did you make as a result of 9/11?

just one really - I became a LOT more interested in history and politics. specifically ours and Middle Eastern.

Re: What life-decisions did you make as a result of 9/11?

I decided to get married to dh...before that I wasn't sure it was "for me"...then it all clicked, it changed how I looked at things, what mattered....

Re: What life-decisions did you make as a result of 9/11?

i decided to stop working in the city and make the big move to New Jersey to be with my boyfriend (now DH) because never in my life had I felt so alone than on that day because he lived in NJ and my parents in LI. I never wanted to feel like that again --- like I had no one in close proximity to turn to.

Re: What life-decisions did you make as a result of 9/11?

September 11,2001 forever changed so many of our lives. My husband was deployed to ground zero that morning and being a working mother & a military wife with 2 very young children and even though my career was the one that was affording us a very comfy lifestyle, I made the choice to leave that job and find one that would allow me to be with my children while my husband who eventually deployed for 10 months was away

Re: What life-decisions did you make as a result of 9/11?

It made me identify myself as a New Yorker with so much more conviction. I never want to live anywhere else.

Message edited 9/11/2008 10:56:55 PM.

Re: What life-decisions did you make as a result of 9/11?

I definitely decided to leave my job in NYC and look for something closer to home. the 3 hours a day I spent commuting was wasted time for me, I wanted to be closer to home and I really felt a sense of wanting a family (I was engaged already and got married 8 months later on 5/11/02).

Re: What life-decisions did you make as a result of 9/11?

Worked down there for four years, helping. 9/11 MADE me feel compelled to help the people down there.

After that, I started my own business. Two years later, I was pregnant with Gracie.

Re: What life-decisions did you make as a result of 9/11?

It sounds silly but what happened that day made me recognize how precious and short life really is and how important it is to be grateful for everyone I love and for every day I have and to not stress about the small stuff as much, in the end it's not what matters.

Re: What life-decisions did you make as a result of 9/11?

I started my law practice in October 2001. September 11 made me see a lot of things differently. Any attorney I have ever worked for would have told me to stay and wait it out in the building as many in the towers did. It was time to be my own boss. There was a lot more than that to my thought process but this is what I can explain in a nutshell.

Re: What life-decisions did you make as a result of 9/11?

I moved home as soon as grad school was done and I know that I will never live far away from my family again.

Re: What life-decisions did you make as a result of 9/11?

I didn't make any life altering changes or decisions, as I had already, that year, decided to quit my job and go to law school.

But even though I lived in Philly, 9/11 changed the path of my life distinctly. My husband worked a few buildings away, so after 9/11 he had to relocate. He relocated to Philadelphia and the next year we met, got engaged, married and had Alex.