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New Year with New Beginnings |
It
is finally 2002 and normally, people would be very excited about the New
Year. And it is a time of year where people feel that they could start
their lives over with a clean slate. It is not as if a person cannot
change something at any time they want, but this time of year seems to
signify the beginning of a new chapter in people’s lives. This year,
however, the events of 2001 are lingering into the New Year. The events of
September 11 will not and should not be forgotten, but it should not hold
us back from new experiences to come.
Because of the September 11attacks, people seem to be carrying a
weight on their shoulders. The events have devastated everyone.
Understandably, when something this extreme has happened it takes a very
long time for people to recover, but we must eventually move on. We should
not completely forget about it and act as if nothing has even happened,
but we should use it as a reason to come together and be better than we
were before.
Obviously,
people will be making the usual resolutions to lose ten pounds, to travel
more, or to go skydiving at least once in their lifetime. Some resolve to
be more open- minded, settling a family feud or even spending more time
with your family? We should have learned from September 11 that no one
should take their life for granted.
This
is also a good time of year for people to put aside their hostilities. You
would think that these days people would not have to worry about things
like hate crimes, but it seems as though in a time when people are
supposed to be more open minded and accepting, there is more prejudice.
There have been many reports of hate crimes. It was reported that me that
at a particular school, a few girls had to be escorted to their classes,
because their fellow students were throwing rocks and trash at them. At
this time when our country is going through many problems and chaos, we
should be coming together and becoming united. Instead, it has made people
fearful. My neighbors returned home from their Christmas vacation to find
that their home had been completely vandalized with swastikas spray
painted all over the house. People are continuously saying and that things
have changed, but why is it that these types of things are still
happening? I understand that people can’t change at the blink of an eye,
but how will the world ever change if we don’t put forth the effort to
do so?