We asked Chicagoans: How did Sept. 11, 2001 change your life?
These were among the responses. Some have been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.
“Increased respect and admiration for firefighters and first-responders!” — Nathaniel Thomas Jr.
“I’m a Muslim educator/speaker. The easier question is: How didn’t it change my life?” — Omer M. Mozaffar
“No longer could we freely enter buildings without an ID. Security at airports tightened — having to go through X-ray and taking shoes off. Made me aware of terrorism, which never seemed real to me. But those in the towers, on the planes — they lost their lives. I will never forget.” — Susan Harris Fiege
“My love for humanity and being an American grew exponentially. Watching us all come together as a nation to support each other taught me that we can overcome anything thrown our way instead of dividing over race, color, creed, religion, etc.” — Robin Pressley
“Made me care about my country more.” — Laurence Stom
“It added an extra layer of fear.” — Jackie Flinchum
“It put me out of a much-loved job as a result of my airline filing bankruptcy. However, it opened my eyes to what else was out there, and I discovered I had other skills.” — Sandy Gulliver
“I saw the WTC flames and smoke from the corner of Vanderbilt and Atlantic Avenues in Brooklyn. I was driving my daughter — who was two days shy of her first birthday — to her first day at a play group. How did this change my life? I realized that you cannot just rush through life. You need to look at things and absorb them, even if they are extremely frightening.” — Ellen Levitt
