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My Birth
I, Andy Jeon, was born on December 22, 2000. I was born at Elkins Park Hospital and was the only child of my two parents. I was born at approximately 10 in the morning and had been of normal size. It was on this day a legend was born. -
September 11th, 2001 Terrorist Attacks
On September 11th, 2001, 19 Al Qaeda affiliated Terrorists hijacked 4 American airlines planes and crashed one into each tower of the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and one into a field in Pennsylvania. The Terrorist Attacks on 9/11 resulted in 3,000 deaths. Following the Terrorist attacks, security of the people and the United States became a priority. We waged war with Operation Enduring Freedom, and the signing of the US Patriot Act. www.americanhistory.abc-clio.com -
I Began Kung Fu Training
At approximately 12 months of age, I began my quest to become a Kung-Fu Master. Because my father owned a dojo and a martial arts business, I had stayed with my parents for much of my early infancy. One day, I decided to try my hand at fighting my father, and so I began to learn the basics of kicking on my first day. I would later carry on this training with me and continue to do martial arts. -
No Child Left Behind Act (2001)
The bill passed with bipartisan support known as the No Child Left Behind Act had reauthorized the The Elementary and Secondary education act. This education reform had sought out to have individual state standards rather than a national standard, and create greater emphasis on annual testing, report cards, and reallocation of funding. From this, it was shown to be effective in improving grades, but would later be replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act.(www.ic.galegroup.com/ic/uhic/NCLB) -
Beginning of Iraq War
Following George W. Bush's reelection, he had addressed the increasing concern of Iraq's hostility towards America. Bush in coordination with British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, had worked to settle on a return to Iraq for inspection of their weapons. Upon the invasion of the US/UN council, they were met with attacks and thus began the Iraq war. The Iraq war went on for 8 years and caused numerous amounts of casualties for both sides. (americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/537157) -
George W. Bush is reelected
George W. Bush's second term continued the successes he was able to accomplish during his 8 years of office. His latter position of office allowed him to do many great achievements that followed during events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina. During times of distress, Bush had been able to rally and unify the people of the country. Among other things, he had also been able to improve relations with other countries and led invasions on Iraq. (https://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/246124?) -
Hurricane Katrina (2005)
Hurricane Katrina took place on August 29th, 2005, and had ravaged the borders of Louisiana and Mississippi with winds up to 125 miles per hour. Many cities experienced flooding, causing 1,600 deaths and thousands more to lose their homes. The government requested $100 billion making Katrina the costliest natural disaster in US History. FEMA was criticized for not being able to properly prepare for the disaster and for its late response. (americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1301223) -
My First Violin Lesson
When I was six and a half years old I began my first violin lesson. I had previously taken piano lessons, but I had lost interest very quickly and as a result wanted to try something different. The first instrument I was attracted to after quitting piano had been the violin, and so I had chosen it. At first, it was a very intimidating lesson and experience, but I stuck with the violin and have taken lessons for 10 years now. -
Financial Crisis of 2008
In the summer of 2008, America had faced the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, were two very large mortgage institutions responsible for half of the nations $12 trillion in mortgages. After $300 billion were extended to stabilize the two corporations, but ten days later that Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy. Many companies tried to merge and many homes were being foreclosed. This also caused the stock market to crash.(www.galegroup.com/Recession) -
My First Violin Recital
In 2007, I had learned violin for 6 months, and the institute of where I was taking lessons from had decided to hold its first musical recital of all its students. It was on December 17th, and I had been particularly nervous since I was so young and never stood on a stage before. I had played successfully and afterwards I was very pleased with myself since I did not stop when I messed up like the other students did. It was an event that sparked more of an interest in music for me. -
Barack Obama is elected as the first African American President
Barack Obama became the first African American President when he won the 2008 election. Obama had been the first democrat to win the electorate since Jimmy Carter in 1976. Obama's opponent candidate had been Republican Senator John McCain, and the election had spurred more voters than previous years with especially young voters. Barack Obama would be reelected from 2012-2016 and is responsible for a number of decisions to improve the United States.(https://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/1896817?) -
The Day I Learned How to Ride a Bike
During the summer of 2009, I was determined to learn how to ride a bike. Many of my friends had already known how to ride a bike a long time ago and had boasted about how fun it was, so I was persistent in my efforts. My biggest trouble was trying to learn to brake correctly, and to balance myself properly. After failing for quite some time, I had succeeded in an unusual way, by riding my bike up a hill. Riding my bike is of my favorite activities and was one of my first self-achieved successes. -
BP oil spill
The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill occurred on April 20th, 2010, when a Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sunk. It poured into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days before it was capped. It was claimed that by September of the same year that the oil had been contained, but tests 2 years later proved that it was still leaking. BP and the government worked together to organize cleanup of the oil to residents and wildlife as well as future prevention of disasters. (www.ic.galegroup.com/A381405088) -
Osama Bin Laden's Death
The raid conducted by The United States Navy SEALS on May 2, 2011 shortly after 1:00 AM, took place in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The operation had been named "Operation Neptune Spear" and was conducted by the CIA to eliminate Osama Bin Laden of Al-Qaeda. The raid was supported by a number of other governments and over 90% support by the American public. It became controversial when no evidence of bin Laden's death appeared to the public when so many wanted vengeance. (www.galegroup.com/A255542666) -
My Family Filed for Bankruptcy
One of the darkest moments of my life and of my parents' is when we had filed for bankruptcy. I had been 11 at the time, and I had been too young to understand the financial situation of my family's. Only after some time of maturing and my parents explaining what had occurred, did I finally understand some aspects of how we were living. For all of us, it felt like rock bottom, but that wasn't how a bad situation should be viewed. I learned it was a step towards a restart in all of our lives. -
PMEA Montgomery County Musical Fest Concert
My first real experience of participating in a musical project was in the 6th grade, when the district had offered some select students to participate in what it was like for full-time musicians and ensembles to work. I had learned many musical pieces and when the time came I went for a whole day to a different school district and practiced music all day for a nighttime concert. I learned a lot about music as a career choice and the options it came with it. -
Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy was the worst hurricane of the 2012 atlantic hurricane season and amounted to be the 2nd costliest hurricane in America's history at $71.4 billion. Unlike Hurricane Katrina, Sandy had affected 24 states that included the entire eastern seaboard from Florida to Maine. A number of people had been killed from places such as Cuba, Jamaica, and even Canada. Sandy gained a lot of political attraction and many relief efforts took place to help.(ic.galegroup.com/A351950798) -
Sandy Hook Elementary School Shootings
On December 14th, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza had killed his mother, then proceeded to shoot and kill 20 children and 6 educators at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut. The horrifying incident had sparked a reemergence in gun control laws after the Virginia Tech shootings and caused many debates. Liberals and Conservatives took opposing stances as to how to deal with "school shooters". Discussion arose to trying to characterizing the type of people causing shootings. (galegroup.com) -
Boston Marathon Bombings
The Boston Marathon terrorist attacks that occurred on April 15, 2013 were triggered by two men. Two bombs had been triggered 13 seconds apart by remote hand-held device, causing 3 deaths and over 200 more to be injured. Even after two sweeps for bombs at the marathon, the duo had managed to sneak them in after the check. The result of the bombings had invoked a sense of fear and also triggered an increase in security for all public events. (americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1805660) -
NSA Spying Scandal and Edward Snowden
During the month of June, 2013, NSA contractor Edward Snowden had published the files of confidential information regarding surveillance programs. Snowden's actions sparked a lot of controversy about the nation's methods of security and the invasion of privacy. PRISM is one of the systems used to track private information, and had its existence confirmed even after the first denial of President Obama. To this day, Snowden's actions are debated as patriotic or treason. (galegroup.com/A356453721) -
Montgomery County Science Fair
In the Seventh grade, I was lucky enough to be picked by my teacher to go and represent Abington at the Montgomery County Science Fair. My project about creating a method to solve the Rubik's Cube had looked so unprofessional compared to the other projects, but that didn't bother me. I wasn't able to win anything from the competition, but I had learned a lot about what communication was in the Science community. The experience opened my eyes to all the choices of work in any field of Science. -
Unemployment For Both of My Parents
The deepest personal event I've ever had in my life was by far the period of time in which both my parents were unemployed. It's hard to describe how surreal it feels to have no income, because when you fear for it, it's one thing, but for it to actually happen, the realization hits you like a truck. Both my parents felt depression for quite some time, and I, just 13, couldn't talk to them for a whole week. This event had been rock bottom for me and changed my life completely afterwards. -
Conflict with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and beheadings of American news reporters
Since the attacks of 9/11, one of the biggest threats to emerge has been ISIS. They sparked national controversy in 2014 when they became forward of their brutality when they were responsible for the beheadings of two American reporters/journalists. The videos of the deaths of James Foley and Steven Sotloff created outrage and an increased priority to deal with the group. Their influence is still present as they have tried to recruit Americans and others. (www.galegroup.com/BT2359039982) -
My Trip to Boulder, Colorado
During the fall of 2014, a re-connection between my father and a student of his when he was teaching martial arts gave us the opportunity to travel to Boulder, Colorado. My father was travelling to give a seminar to around 50 people about Martial Arts, and I was there as a coordinator of photography and more. This was the first time I traveled by plane and the first time I went to a different region of the country. To experience a new culture had been amazing for me and why I like to travel. -
Same Sex Marriage is Legalized
Same sex Marriage was legalized on June 26th, 2015 in the supreme court case of Obergefell v. Hodges. The court ruled that denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples and refusal to recognize those marriages violates the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. The legalization was monumental to many as supporters believed it extended a civil right to a minority group, while others argue it violates religious and social order.(www.ic.galegroup.com/) -
Sources (sites used)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_United_States_history_(1990%E2%80%93present) (for looking up events) https://americanhistory.abc-clio.com/ (information about events) http://ahsresearch.wikispaces.com/ (used for links to databases)
