The Day That The World Changed

[Andy Mancini]

Here's a topic I was thinking about for a week, but I never brought up. Well, considering that it's 12:15 at night and I don't necessarilly want to go to bed yet, I'll bring it up now: What one event made you change the way you look at the world? I don't mean personal things, like car wrecks or deaths in the family, but you can bring those up if you feel it appropiate. I'm talking national, global, or even local events that made you not see the world in quite the same way. It could be pop culture (OJ Simpson trial), the tragic (9/11), or the ridiculous (the 2000 presidential elections). For me, it was Tiananmen Square massacre.


Let me set this up from my perspective: It was 1989. I was eight. As far as I was concerned, life was perfect. My family was happy, I had a few close friends, and because I didn't live on a farm like many in my community, I really didn't have to do any real physical labor. Heck, a big deal for me was when I missed "Garfield and Friends". That all changed on June 9th.

I went back into my house from playing in the back yard with my brother and our neighbor (and first excounter with the opposite sex) Heather at noon, to partake in my normal "Saturdays in the summer ritual": eat a bowl of macaroni and cheese while I watched "CBS Storybook" on CBS on the old black and white TV that was in our kitchen at the time. Only this time, "CBS Storybook" wasn't on. It was Dan Rather. He kept on talking about what was happening in mainland China. I had absolutely no idea what was going on, but I knew it was bad. My Mom just watched in horror as the entire thing unfolded. Later, I asked my Dad about what happened, and he explained in a way that an naive eight year old kid would understand. Needless, to say, I was horrified as well. Up to that point, I never expirienced evil up close like that. I had no personal connection to the event - I'm Italian - but I was just felt like a loved one had died. That murder of all of those kids wasn't necessary as far I was concerned. This wasn't a war, it was protest. Just the fact that there were people out there that could justify doing such an evil act scared the hell out of me.

Fast forward to now. I'm 21, I still like "CBS Storybook", and that old black and white Panasonic TV still works. Still, the images and overwhelming evil I felt that day is still with me. I can't think of mainland China without going back to that day. The day of muder, evil, and room temparature mararoni and cheese.

[TimTwoFace]

Silly or not, I think it was when the first Batman movie came out that my life changed. No, it wasn't a religious experience or anything, but it was important nonetheless; I'd found a muse for my creativity. I'd wanted to get into writing, acting, directing, etc, since I was a child and after I saw Tim Burton's vision paired up with my favourite hobby, I was struck. My creative drive hasn't died or waned since. :)

-Tim

[Dark Vicious]

Kurt Cobain's death I mean he was insparation after hearing from my mom that someone from Nirvana was dead I was literally shaking I turn on the news and to my horror it said "Kurt Cobain Commits Suicide" at first I refused to believe it but than reality gave me a backhand to the face Kurt was really gone

[Calico]

The day the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. Living in Florida at the time, shuttle launches were always a big deal, we'd have TVs in the classrooms, or sometimes go outside to watch. I was in 8th grade at the time and I don't think I'd even known what complete devistation felt like until that moment.

[ButteredToast]

The same as Calico's...

I remember being in the 8th grade and the teacher coming in and telling us about it... Stunned isn't quite the word to describe the feeling. I was very numb for a while after that... :\

[James]

Back To The Future shook me. Marty did and could do everything I thought was cool. Skateboard, drive, have a gorgeous girl (well, for the first film at least) and could play the guitar.. while it was a monumental event, it shook my soul and gave an indiction of what I wanted from myself.

Although the life changing moment came from listening - to my shame - Kiss' 'God Gave Rock And Roll 2 U' where I realised I wanted to try and do something different. Several knocks and a distrustful cat had proved that I was not able to stick to buildings nor swing on a single thread. So I followed the song's advice and picked up the guitar.

Well, so much for that. One defunct single release later, several homemade albums and I'm back to art - but I tried and may try again. Both those instances in my life changed the direction I was heading in.

[RogueMartian]

The day i graduated from 5th grade, I had the sudden realization that entropy was not just a fact of life, it was inevitable. I really haven't been the same since.

[BLACKHEART]

The day when the world will change for me is the day I have to limit myself to only one female forever :(

[Stardust]

The world changed for me twice - when I went to college because I went where no one else from my high school did, and the other when I got contracted into the army (when playing army wasn't fun anymore :p ).

Joining the army helped me out of my introverted shell - i'm not outgoing or anything, but i talk more than i used to if i'm around friends. I also found a love for teaching and a competitive side that I never used to have. I am more interested in politics, military issues, and current events. I discovered my limitations, but at the same time I know how to push myself more to succeed. I learned to think towards what my future will be like if this happened, and if i did that, how will it affect me? I've built my confidence up.

Some consequences for this revelation is that my creativity has gone squat. Maybe it's because I haven't had the time to keep up with my fan fictions or creative writing, but I used to have a dream of going to Japan/China to learn martial arts that was so real I could taste it. Now it's gone. I'm also more cynnical of people and events than I used to. I've been more frustrated and angry because of the way the program is set up here - I had a great commander and now he's gone. There is no cadre up here that can match up to my previous commander.

I don't know if being in the army or leaving home without the comforts of familiar things made me more independent, but I have never been so ready to live out on my own until my sophomore year. College is definately an experience, and it is a life changing experience for me. :)

[ccffan01]

The world changes everyday.

[Rafeal v1.0]

My life changed when i broke up with my first real girlfriend, we had gone out for about a year (i was 15 at the time) and she started acting weird, then i found out she no longer wanted to be with me so we ended up braking up, well after that i've been much much more serious then i used to be, and i dont act as goofy, i actually regret changing cause i think i changed for the worse.

[Moonbay]

September 11th. I just thought, "Sheesh. Didn't notice how good it feels to be alive."

[Dark Spider]

I'm just going to change the focus from the world to my life. My life changed specifically on the first day of the third grade. I turned from the happy and energetic kid into the slow, crappy, and philosophical kid that everyone sees today.

For exactly no reason at all, everyone started to dislike or just plain hate me and started being mean to me. In the second grade, everyone liked me...then in the third grade, everyone was mean to me. To the normal person, this might not have mattered, but to the sensitive person that I am, this was the world to me.

Things haven't changed until this year actually. Not until my 12th grade year in high school that everyone liked me and for the most part, was nice to me. In the previous years, most people were still mean to me, but now everyone is nice. @_@? Oh well, I guess I will never understand...

Now let's change the focus back to the world. The world gradually changes over time, and there hasn't been a specific world event ever that has changed the WHOLE world....just major sections. It takes something real BIG to change the world, like a nuclear strike or God suddenly appears.

[AceOfKnaves]

The day my sister's boyfriend J.R. came over to our house and took over the TV is my most memorable. I had been watching Boy Meets World on the Disney channel, but for some reason didn't put up a fight when he grabbed the remote.

Let's just say what he turned it to, changed my whole life forever. You see my name? Avatar? Location? How about my Title?

What he changed it to was Batman Beyond. I immediately fell in love with the series, watching it every afternoon at 3:30 on the WB.

Granted I like Batman: The Animated Series much more at this moment in time, but I owe my whole love for the animated Batman world to Batman Beyond.

I am now an official Batman geek! :cool:

[meatwad945]

about 2 years ago when i realized that the world is a big pile of _____ and there is nothing we can do

[ccffan01]

Originally posted by meatwad945
about 2 years ago when i realized that the world is a big pile of _____ and there is nothing we can do


The world is a pile of blank!

[cross blues]

the first day of college, everything changed for the worse. I was finally happy with the way my life was going then high school was over and everything got all shook up again. maybe I realized the time being free of responsibility was over, maybe I just miss my true friends... I'm still looking for something to make me happy like that did.

[Leaping Larry Jojo]

Hasn't happened yet to me. I've changed gradually over time, but I still haven't faced the event that would change me...yet.

[Outlander00]

there have been a few.

Going to college in the middle of Brooklyn,the 200 Presidential election, and Spetember 11 are all the front runners for this one.

[AceOfKnaves]

I just chose to move away from my family and friends about a week ago. I'm getting read to go, and I'm dealing with a lot of stress.

This will certainly change my life more than Batman did. I just revolve around him. :D

[panther3751]

The day when a close family member died.

I was seven at the time.

And you never forget, not when they're that close.

Anyway. . . . . . . .