Imagine going home to find that everything had changed completely. For students from New York City, returning home from Tufts for winter break was an unpredictable experience. Much of New York City has changed in the months since 9/11.
Some students wondered how their parents would act or if their neighborhoods would feel different. Most who returned home, however, believe that New York will be New York again.
Sophomore Callie Siegel, a resident of downtown Manhattan, is optimistic about the future of New York City, but recognizes a change in the atmosphere. For Siegel, moving around the city became a source of some anxiety. Being on the subway or in large public places made her nervous, though it didn't deter her from going anywhere.
Initially, Siegel's family took extra safety precautions after the World Trade Center was attacked. Her father and brother each carried around a light stick and a radio while they were out in the city.
Siegel has not seen Ground Zero and doesn't plan on visiting soon.
"I haven't wanted to," she said. "It's enough for me just knowing. I used to see the World Trade Center every time I looked down Fifth Avenue."
For Siegel, seeing aspects of the city recover since the tragedy is extremely gratifying. And though she hopes that the tragedy will never be forgotten, she is glad to see that many people's lives have gone back to the way they once were.
"You can't possibly live your life in fear all the time," Siegel said. "You think about it, but you have to go on. I think it's going to be back to normal at one point."
Junior Jeff Fox calls downtown Manhattan home. On his return, he found that while his neighborhood was getting back to normal, reminders of the tragedy existed around every corner.
"My mom went up to the roof of our building and saw it happening," Fox recalled. "She could see people jumping out of the buildings. It's really unfortunate [that] now people don't think about it as much."
Fox said that the lack of new developments in the search for Osama Bin Laden may have caused some people to put the tragedy in the backs of their minds, but that New Yorkers are all still in some way connected to the incident.
"It's ever-present," Fox said. "You still hear stories about people. Whenever you talk about it, it brings back that somber mood."
As for having hope for the city, Fox feels proud to be a part of New York. Moreover, his attitude has changed towards the safety workers in the city: now, he appreciates the police and firefighters that he sees.
Fox was able to fully appreciate the efforts of New York City rescue workers when he spent time at Ground Zero over break. He ventured down to site of the tragedy before the observation deck was built and before the site turned into what some are calling a tourist attraction.
"I still saw all the lights on and all the trucks moving and all the people working," Fox said. "Enough time has passed that people aren't thinking about this as much. They don't have as much of an emotional connection as they did in the past. It made me think."
But while Fox is happy to see the city being rebuilt and the spirit of New York alive and well, he worries that this change may be a little hasty.
"It's good that not everybody's lives aren't still focused and depressed all the time," Fox said. "On the other hand, I asked myself: 'Are people forgetting about it too soon?'"
Life in sophomore Justin Green's household was forever changed on 9/11, when the family's store in the World Trade Center was destroyed.
"We haven't really talked about it," Green said. "It almost doesn't matter. The worst part about it was [that] instead of grieving for all the people who died, my dad had to spend those first days doing the paperwork. It had to get done."
Green found the city permanently changed since the tragedy, and he says that he would be disturbed had it not been that way. And while Fox fears that New York may forget what happened, Green feels differently.
"It's almost good that we don't go back to normal," Green said. "It's a comforting feeling to know that everyone still cares and everyone's so supportive."
Like Fox, Green visited Ground Zero long before tickets were being sold to view the site from an observation tower. Green said that the "disturbing feeling" from seeing the rubble in person was what made the tragedy the most real for him.
Sophomore Nikoletta Stagias felt a pall over the city as she returned to her home and family in Queens. She believes that the combination of the depressed economy and the aftermath of the destruction of the World Trade Center have created a new mood.
"I always temp over the break, but this time they couldn't find me any jobs," Stagias said. "There just weren't any... I think the economy is really bringing people down."
Though many residents have visited Ground Zero, Stagias felt uncomfortable visiting the site, at least for now.
"I don't plan on going down there until everything is back to normal," Stagias said. "It's become a tourist attraction. They treat it as if it's some sort of exhibition. It's really upsetting. I understand if you have family members or friends, but a lot of people are going there for the wrong reasons... to be shocked."
Stagias added that the area has a special significance for her, since her high school, Stuyvesant High School, is located so nearby. Stagias recalls many afternoons and weekends spent in the area around the World Trade Center; she even had her junior prom inside the building.
"It takes away a lot from my high school experience to think that places I hung out in just aren't there," Stagias said. "It was such a great neighborhood. It was just vibrant. There was a lot of energy. It was real New York. They took that away."
