My visit to the Pentagon

My visit to the Pentagon 

Excitement ran through my body as I exited the escalators and walked towards the front entrance. Above the front entrance in bold letters, it read PENTAGON. I couldn’t believe I was at the Pentagon.  I was so excited because of the unknown knowledge of the Pentagon. As a young adolescent, I heard a lot of stories about it. The stories always seem to focus on the mysterious things that occur in the Pentagon. Some people would describe the Pentagon as a government agency that watches your every move. Similar to George Orwell’s novel 1984, the Pentagon is the big brother and we are the citizens and big brother is watching us. So, I was finally ready to have my questions answers and destroy any “imagination” I had about the Pentagon. *Side note I did not know American citizens were allowed to tour the Pentagon. Once again, I thought it was top-secret building and not public friendly.  My conventional image of the Pentagon is that is a building that has a lot of offices that is secret and very high-tech equipment. To my surprise, it was the opposite. The Pentagon had a lot of stores and goodie shops, it is basically like a mini mall. Which make sense because every military base has clothing and grocery stores for people who live or work on the base. I was not expecting the war/ military memorial art on the wall. It was very exciting to see the courtyard because when people examine photographs of the Pentagon, the majority of the time, the photograph displays a top view of it. 

The most touching moment of the tour that strike home was the 9/11 memorial in the Pentagon. I was in the 1st grade and was very young when 9/11 happened. For years people and documentaries always discuss in great detail what happened in New York City, but rarely do they discuss what happened at the Pentagon. So being in the same location where the plane struck was an emotional experience. I just try to imagine being there when that tragic event happened and asking myself what would I have done at that moment or how would I reacted. I know I probably would have terrified and lose my nerve. I’m glad I got a chance to tour the Pentagon and was a great experience. Now I can go back home and tell my friends and families what it is truly like to be in the Pentagon.

Iesha Pearson