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I was born
I was born on March 10th, 2001 at a hospital in Wilmington, Delaware. This event was greatly important because if it had not happened, then there wouldn't be any other personal events on this timeline. Or for that matter, this entire timeline would have never even existed at all -
9/11 Attacks
The September 11th attacks effected nearly if not everyone in the USA. That morning, 4 different planes were taken control of by terrorists and used in terrible crimes against humanity. 3 of the planes hit very important buildings and one landed in a field in PA. These events influenced the way not only Americans but also many other people live their lives. Since those events, we have a lot more airport/plane security, a greater sense of nationalism, and for some, a fear of flying. (history.com) -
Establishment of the Department of Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, is made to help keep the US, as a whole, safe through increased intelligence. Upon it's creation, many new agencies were made, and some were moved into it. Some of these agencies were thought to be unlawful, but were almost all justified by the Patriot Act. The creation of the DHS has given us a much safer place to live. Also, it helps even other countries by removing dangerous people, so overall the DHS has a great importance to the US. (history.com) -
US-Iraq War Begins
The main goal of the US-Iraq war was to "disarm" Iraq. It was believed that they were building/already had built weapons of mass destruction, which could put the world in danger. Within 3 weeks, we had made major progress, and most combat ended by May 1st, 2003. We captured Saddam Hussein in Oct. 2005, and fighting lasted all the way until 2011. The start of the US-Iraq war is important because it was our first major step in fighting terrorism and corruption in the middle east. (www.history.com) -
My brother was born
The bane of my existence. My brother enjoys pushing people to the edge, then pretending to not have done anything wrong. He believes that if I earn money for myself, that somebody owes him the same amount of money for no work whatsoever. With less reasoning than Donald Trump and more lies than Hillary Clinton, I doubt that he will ever become president. My brother coming along was impactful because it made me have to adapt to living with another frustrating person to constantly deal with. -
Construction of the Freedom Tower in NYC
About 3 years after the 9/11 attacks, we had already begun to make a new World Trade Center. The construction began on the Fourth of July in 2004, which is the USA's most patriotic day of the year. Also, as a message to people and groups who try to harm our country, we named it the Freedom Tower and made it 1,776 feet tall. This event was impactful to the whole world because it is an example of our great country surviving a terrible event, then becoming even better in response. (www.nbcnews.com) -
Protests against Iraq War
Although there have been protests against wars in the past, the Vietnam War for example, the gatherings on this day were of record-setting proportions. There was an estimated 300,000 protesters in Washington D.C. on that day, and even more in other cities and countries. Even though there were so many protestors, absolutely no violence occurred. Such a large demonstration impacted USA by showing that we wanted to fix international problems by using methods other than war. (www.washingtonpost.com) -
Moved to Kennett Square, PA
After I finished kindergarten, my dad got transferred to work at a different office. My parents liked the area near where my grandmom and great-grandmom live, and the schools were really good, so they decided to move there. I liked it there much more than I like Abington, mostly because it was much less urban and there were a lot fewer kids at my school. Moving to Kennett Square was important because that was where I went to elementary school and made most of my friends I have today. -
DARPA Urban Challenge
This was a "race" sponsored by DARPA, the purpose of which was to finish a maze using cars. The tricky part was that the car could not be remote controlled/driven by people. It had to be fully autonomous and make it through the course on its own. The maze consisted of 3 missions, totalling about 55 miles. Only 6 team's cars finished all of the course. This event was impactful because it showed manufacturers and people that partially/fully autonomous cars were not too far away.(archive.darpa.mil) -
Global financial crisis
The economic events in 2008 almost put us into Great Depression territory. It was mostly caused by the American housing market, with mortgage companies giving money to home buyers who could not afford to pay the loan back. Also, the interest rates would in some cases rise into the double digits a few years into the mortgage, causing an immense amount of foreclosures. The results of such practices hopefully influenced the government and banks to only give reasonable loans. (www.britannica.com) -
National Fuel Efficiency Policy announced
Global warming does exist, and we humans are the main cause of it. This policy sets an economy standard of 35.5mpg, more than double what it used to be. The aim of this policy is to save money and the environment at the same time, which few people can complain about. The new technologies sparked by this policy help to make more power from smaller engines. This policy is impactful because it is forcing science which will make us healthier and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (whitehouse.gov) -
Parents Separated/Divorced
For the first two or three years I kind of just denied that it had happened, but it had, and there was no going back. I barely got to see my dad for the first few months of 4th grade, and he was renting a bunch of houses in the area until he found somewhere to move. After a while, I realized I needed to adapt to the situation, stop being sad, and be happy that I now had 2 of each holiday. Overall, my parents getting divorced was impactful because it changed almost everything about my childhood. -
US Senate repeals "don't ask,don't tell"
After 17 years of this being in place, Senate repealed the ban on gay/lesbian people serving in the military. The ban essentially promoted discrimination, which in the 21st century America is ridiculous. Announced by Bill Clinton, it was a step backwards for America's human rights. In addition to it being repealed, there were measures put into place to prevent discrimination. This was impactful because it was an important step towards everyone having equal rights as citizens. (britannica) -
Elimination of Osama bin Laden
Nearly 10 years after the 9/11 attacks, the US Navy raided the compound where he was living and eliminated the Al-Qaeda leader. The compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan took 40 minutes total to raid, with 25 Navy Seals participating in the raid. The body was buried at sea, as to avoid a possible, "terrorist shrine" being created as a result of a normal burial. The death of this terrorist was very impactful because it showed that we will go to great lengths to do what is right for our country. (CNN) -
S&P Downgrades US credit rating
Since there is not a "National Bank of the World", nation's credit ratings are managed by Standard and Poor (S&P 500). As a result of our rapidly increasing national debt, the USA's credit rating was downgraded from AAA to AA+. This was the first time it had happened to us since the late 1940's, right after WW2. Given we consider ourselves one of the best nations ever, this was disappointing. The downgrade influenced us to get our economy together and recover from our crippling debt. (wsj.com) -
Dad Moved to Chalfont
Imagine an entire town where all the houses are giant and look almost exactly alike... More thank likely you pictured something that looks like Chalfont, PA. My dad moved there because the schools are really good, the houses are huge and decently cheap, and that's where my aunt/uncle/cousins live. He moved there also because when he gets transferred for work, he has to live within a certain amount of miles from his office. My dad moving is important because I live close to my dad's family. -
Attack on US Government Buildings in Benghazi
On the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, protests started in Cairo, Egypt. Shortly after midnight in Benghazi, attacks by a terrorist group began on US facilities. By the time the violence had escalated to a severe level, there had not been any orders to deploy troops. All units were either very far away or not in a position to deploy once the orders had been made. The events that occurred that day have led to a look at how our military is managed in emergency situations (benghazi.house.gov) -
Grandparents Moved to Hilton Head, SC
For a long time, my grandad was in local council/retired in Stone Harbor, NJ. This made it easy to go visit because it was right on the beach and we could go every 1-2 months. However, when they moved to South Carolina, it went from a 2-hour drive to an 18-hour drive. With flying down there costing so much, I can only fly when I go alone, and driving takes so long, so we only go visit 1 or 2 times a year. My G-parents moving is important because I used to see them a lot but not as much anymore. -
Dad Remarried
My dad getting engaged was when I lost all hope of my parents ever cancelling their divorce, The only things I remember from the wedding was my cousin Gavin and I walking around the golf course after having to meet too many people, and eating cake. Initially, I hated the fact that someone completely random to me was being forced into my life suddenly, but after a while I decided she was OK. My dad getting remarried was important because that was the "point of no return" from my parent's divorce. -
Detroit Chapter 9 Bankruptcy
What was once a great post-war industrial city has fallen into a state of great disrepair. In 2010, the population was just over 700K, which is a 60 percent decrease from 1950. Despite the giant population loss, Detroit is still a big city with lots of things that require tax dollars to maintain. Therefore, after such a large taxpayer and industry decrease, the city gained huge amounts of debt. The bankruptcy of Detroit had a great impact on how we balance the industry of our country. (USAToday) -
Affordable Care Act goes into effect
Also known as Obamacare, the Affordable Care Act is designed to give everyone access to healthcare in the USA. There is a variable rate that changes based on health conditions, age, etc... but you cannot be denied health insurance. The health care industry was actually helped by bringing in new patients and customers with insurance. During the first year, the # of uninsured citizens dropped by 25%. Obamacare impacted our nation by giving more people access to good healthcare. (NYTimes) -
Moved to Abington
By the time I moved to Abington, I was used to moving. So, when my mom had to move, I knew the drill. However, I was not too happy about having to change schools, since I liked mine a lot and had a few friends. It took a long time to sell my mom's house, so I got to Abington 2/3 through 7th grade. It took me a while, but I eventually got used to living closer to a big city. Moving here is important because if I hadn't, then I would have never met any of the people who have become my friends. -
Got a Dog
I have always been and always will be a die-hard cat person. Dogs are too much work and you don't get much extra in return compared to cats. So, when I found out my step-dad is allergic to cats, I was forced to accept the ugly truth that is dogs. My dog's name is Sadie and she is 1/2 hunting dog/hound and 1/2 golden lab. Since she is part hound, she howls very often, which is incredibly annoying. Getting a dog made me realize that sometimes you learn to love thing that you thought you hated. -
Mom Got Remarried
The second wedding I had ever gone to was my mom's. When I tell that to people they always look at me funny. Unlike with my dad and stepmom, I got a few years to get to know my stepdad before he was forced into my life. Their wedding was a lot smaller, so I didn't feel the urge to stop being social and go cool down. I see Todd much more than Nicole because I live mainly at my moms. My mom getting remarried is important because she is happier now that she is married, which is good for me too. -
Diplomacy with Cuba Resumes
After 54 years of separation, the USA and Cuba finally resumed diplomatic ties. Cuba had been almost completely cut off from the rest of the world trade-wise, and ended up very far behind in technology. Cuba should now be an interesting tourism destination, thanks to its classic cars and building styles. It will also be convenient for trade to have a new nation to trade with. The re-establishment of diplomacy with Cuba is important to the future of trade and alliances in the USA. (www.cfr.org)
