How historical research has influenced my perspective on personal events and situations in life

Timeline 

The historical information obtained from this research has a crucial role in influencing my perspective on personal events and situations in life. The information has changed my perspectives in life. Without this research, it was difficult for me to understand the various events in our country. However, after this research, I understand how lucky I have been and how surviving the various disasters and natural calamities that occurred since my birth is such a priceless gift. Despite the various negative events in my childhood, my family still managed to survive even though most of these events occurred close to our family. For instance, when the 9/11 attack occurred, my uncle worked in Pennsylvania as a financial consultant (Lowell et al., 2018). I have always heard stories about how he escaped the attack and how the family could not reach him due to the destruction of communication networks during the attack. Everyone was worried that he was lost in the attack until he returned, narrating how he had missed his job on that fateful day. I have never felt emotional about the attack; however, after this research, I have gained more emotional attachment to the events leading to, and that transpired after the attack. My national security perspective has greatly changed as I now understand the Department of Defense's role in protecting our country from such disastrous events. I now believe why the US government put such strict measures on air and marine security. Implementation of new security policies to close all the gaps that could promote terrorism and insecurities in the country. 

The quantitative data and key indicators also greatly impact my understanding of the various historical events that have taken place since I was born. My research contradicts what I had always heard about the tornado that happened in Oklahoma. In essence, according to my research, 50 people died from the tornado, while the stories I had heard about the event is that 20 people died (Ampaw-Asiedu, 2018). The research confirms that the tornado was highly severe and should be carried with the weight it deserves. In essence, the quantitative data obtained in this research is crucial in understanding the severity of various events. The quantitative data has also helped me understand more about the 9/11 US attacks. From the research, I have established how Osama Bin Laden, an Afghan national, coordinated the attacks due to his widespread understanding of the US (Rose et al., 2017). According to the data, Bin Laden had studied engineering in the US; hence understood the country's geography well to plan the attack. Consequently, 2996 people died from the attacks, with more than 6,000 others suffering minor and major injuries (Lowell et al., 2018). The research data also helped me understand how 19 hijackers made the two planes, United Airlines and American Airlines, collide, leading to loss of lives and property destruction. With the formation of various social media networks like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, the number of users grew rapidly, with close to 3 billion users recorded in 2017. The statistical data in this research also indicates how Barack Obama became the first black president in the US by garnering 365 Electoral College votes (Moskowitz, 2018). Unlike the 2008 and 2016, a Republican candidate, Trump, won the 2017 elections by a landslide (Moskowitz, 2018). The indicators chosen for the task are not different from those of the time I researched. However, the rising numbers of coronavirus pandemic in the US could be slightly different from those recorded on the day of research. 

I think that personal recollections, quantitative data, and history are similar in various attributes but differ in most of these attributes. People have different experiences on the occurring historical events. For instance, those directly affected by the 9/11 attacks have different perceptions of those who only read the events in historical recordings. While quantitative data provides accurate information on what happened during a disaster or historical event, it does not provide the exact feelings. 

References 

Ampaw-Asiedu, L. O. (2018). A Case Study on the Design of Safe Spaces in Hospitals Vulnerable to Tornadoes in Central US. 

Lowell, A., Suarez-Jimenez, B., Helpman, L., Zhu, X., Durosky, A., Hilburn, A., & Neria, Y. (2018). 9/11-related PTSD among highly exposed populations: a systematic review 15 years after the attack.  Psychological medicine ,  48 (4), 537. 

Moskowitz, D. J. (2018). Local news, information, and the nationalization of US Elections.  American Political Science Review , 1-16. 

Payne, D. C., Smith-Jeffcoat, S. E., Nowak, G., Chukwuma, U., Geibe, J. R., Hawkins, R. J., ... & Graziano, J. (2020). SARS-CoV-2 infections and serologic responses from a sample of US Navy service members—USS Theodore Roosevelt, April 2020.  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report ,  69 (23), 714. 

Raker, E. J., Lowe, S. R., Arcaya, M. C., Johnson, S. T., Rhodes, J., & Waters, M. C. (2019). Twelve years later: The long-term mental health consequences of Hurricane Katrina.  Social Science & Medicine ,  242 , 112610. 

Reuter, C., Backfried, G., Kaufhold, M. A., & Spahr, F. (2018). ISCRAM turns 15: A trend analysis of social media papers 2004-2017.  Proceedings of ISCRAM . 

Rose, A., Avetisyan, M., Rosoff, H., Burns, W. J., Slovic, P., & Chan, O. (2017). The role of behavioral responses in the total economic consequences of terrorist attacks on US air travel targets.  Risk analysis ,  37 (7), 1403-1418. 

Wegman, F., Allsop, R., Antoniou, C., Bergel-Hayat, R., Elvik, R., Lassarre, S., & Wijnen, W. (2017). How did the economic recession (2008–2010) influence traffic fatalities in OECD-countries?.  Accident Analysis & Prevention ,  102 , 51-59.