By J1 Reporter Mia Miller

On 9/11, Tina Sample was at her apartment in Omaha when she heard the terrible news. She was asleep and her dad called her telling her not to come to work and to turn on the television immediately. He also told her to call her former boyfriend, Nick, because he was in the Air Force at the time. She remembered watching the news after the first plane hit and trying to understand what had happened. While watching the news she saw that another plane had hit the second building. She soon realized that this situation was very serious and not an accident. During that week a lot of things were cancelled and while she was at school at University of Omaha everything got put on hold.

Sample’s mother was from Long Island, New York, which immediately made her think about people she knew who may have been near the attacks. Her mother lost several classmates who worked in the towers. Her uncle was also a former New York firefighter and he knew people there, as well. She said that 9/11 had changed many things in everyday life in the United States. Traveling became different, airports especially, the security became more strict. After 9/11 many people decided to join the armed forces. For Sample, remembering 9/11 is important because it helps younger generations understand how much this tragedy changed the United States. Sample said, “Young people should stay well informed and understand how important that day was and how much it impacted everyone.” She compared it to how her generation was educated on the Vietnam War and learned about those people’s experiences who lived through it.