The 9/11 Generation?

If I'd known what the last two years would hold for me, would I go back and apply to Teach For America again? Hmm . . . I don't know. Well, I am happy with my life now, and I know I know far more about America and our political and social systems than I ever thought I could learn in two years. But would I say "yes! Sign me up!" if they had told me that I would endure a heinous five-week training session that included me breaking down and crying at least twice in front of a large group of peers (something I don't do in public)? Would I say, "yes!" if they had told me I would be forced to get a teaching credential through a sham of an educational program? Would I say "yes!" if they had told me I would have 13-year-old gang members and kids with ankle monitors in my class? Would I say "yes!" if they had told me a student would tell me the second week of school that she had been raped? Would I say "yes!" if they told me failure was inevitable?

No, I would not have said "yes!" When I think of senior-year Jayna, she was happy living in the moment, spending every Thursday night at Harpo's, every Friday at Fieldhouse or Big 12, and she was most focused on crossing guys off an alleged list. And when she signed up for this unknown thing called Teach For America, she was really just trying to prove herself. Yes, there was that whole "helping the world thing," but she never knew what she was getting herself into.

However, I'm glad I did it. One of my first memories was of me crying myself to sleep when I was in 2nd grade. I had just seen a news report on AIDS, and I wept as I thought that one day everyone in the world would die of AIDS. So, yes, I was a dramatic child (somehow, I doubt you're suprised); but somewhere between 2nd grade and college I lost that sense of belonging to the world and what happened to others. Somehow, in TFA, I've found that again. And, haha, that's why I'm quitting teaching. Although I love my students this year, I've quickly realized this isn't my passion or what I feel I should be doing. I feel I'm meant to do something more -- somewhere else. In fact, I feel I have to do something more.

Which brings me to a recent report on CBS. With the proliferation of applicants for TFA and the Peace Corps growing over the past four years and even more this year (the graduating class were freshmen when 9/11 happened), one professor said "we may eventually call this the 9/11 generation." Hey, it's a catchier moniker compared to ones like "baby boom" or even "Generation-X" (most of whom don't even know where the "X" came from). But I wonder if this is true. Will we be known for the effects 9/11 had on our social desires? I've always (well, always being since the beginning of time -- or at least since I was 16), thought my generation was lethargic in terms of politics and society. I was the first generation in my family who had a choice about entering the armed forces. For three previous generations, the men in my family had fought in WWI, WWII and Vietnam. My generation saw "war" as black and green screens shown on CNN. We have never had the fear of being drafted or saw brothers and boyfriends, who never signed up for killing, shipped off in hoards. So maybe 9/11 was a good thing for my fellow inhabitants of the earth.

Perhaps 9/11 changed how we have viewed our commitment to others around the globe. If this really is our most defining factor of our generation, I can't wait to see what will happen when the first 9/11 president takes office. Hmmm . . . doubt that president'll be a Republican.