Hello and welcome to my class assignment, my "Classroom Journalist" blog. On this blog I will be writing about things that haven't yet been assigned. I find that pretty exciting. For me, attending LaGuardia Community College has been an amazing experience. Therefore, this assignment to maintain a blog, to write about the unexpected topic and having the opportunity to introduce myself to you isn't a chore. It's a privilege. It's yet another way to explore myself as well as the people and community around me.
I came to the college in 2009 hoping that my mild Lupus symptoms wouldn't interfere with my plans to obtain a degree or hold me back from pursuing community work on a higher level. I'd been a community activist for most of my adult life and was hopeful that I might be able to transform my work into a career. I never expected to be an honors student. And I certainly didn't expect each of my classes to personally connect to my life and my community work the way they have. Some of the class material has been so fine tuned to the details of my life that it feels like divine intervention. Even at 53 years old, this college experience has truly changed the very way I view myself and the way I view others. But my core beliefs and convictions are stronger than ever. Therefore, I can't wait to see what this journalism class has in store for me and how it will also connect to my life. Once I have a degree in my hand, I intend to pursue community work on a higher level, and I'm curious about the person I'll be when that time comes.
That brings me to my second writing assignment which is my thoughts about our class discussion of the events of 9/11. Professor Rosa expressed that 9/11 was the "Pearl Harbor" of today. That it's the story we'll never forget, "like the shooting of President Robert F. Kennedy or Doctor Martin Luther King". It's the story and the event that will always stay with those who experienced it, who felt it. And Professor Rosa spoke about how things like this might change a person. How might it change the people who saw the planes hit the twin towers, or the ones that dug through the rubble, or reported about it? And then I read the article that the professor assigned. It's with a prayer that I recall 9/11, because I know it changed me. I cherish every moment I have with my family, because I thought I'd lose some of them that day.
This article talked about Byron Pitts. He's a reporter that I'll never forget. I remember standing in front of my television set for moments, trembling as I watched his report. My husband and I had watched the second plane hit the tower from our roof. We knew immediately that we were being attacked and that our children were at risk. And we watched both towers crumble in horror. Afterwards, we were busy collecting and accounting for our six children who were scattered in jobs and schools throughout New York City. When my husband and I went our separate ways to collect all of our children, we kissed each other like it was our last.
Pitts was at ground zero in horror. Yet he was calm. While his eyes began to water, he reported. He did his job professionally as first responders do. He was a first responder of information that would help many people. For me, many parts of that day were blurred into the frenzy. But at some point in the day, I was touched by Pitts. In the few passing moments that I was able to watch Pitt's report, he had given me some much needed information and support. I thought about where he was and how bravely he continued to do what he had to do. He inspired. The article about Pitts, spoke to how the reporter took that experience with him on his journey as a first responder of public information. It feels odd that today in the year 2011, I'm still carrying Pitts along on my journey through life. Humans are more interconnected than we realize. It’s amazing how even through a television report, we make connections. And only now through this exercise and recalling Pitt's report did I realize that my husband and I were first responders for our children. As parents our job was to be our children's security, emotional support and protectors. Despite what was going on around us, my husband and I went to do our job. Like Pitts, we did what we had to do. Thank you for helping me to realize that.
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