Exploration Four  

     Tanya Tepper's story affected me the most because she pulled through one of the hardest losses of the film happy and better than before the tragedy.  Tanya's story affected me because I could really feel how upset she became when she lost her husband.  I mean, she had her whole life planned out, and then , he was gone.  In the film she mentions, " I can move on, but I won't move on".  This hit a personal chord with me because my grandfather passed away in 2008, and to remember him, I drive his old Camry.  Much the same way I'm chided to move on, I don't want to move on out of love and respect for my grandfather, he lived with my family my whole life so he became as much a parent as my real parents.  Another reason I was affected the most by Tanya's story is because she meets someone else, and does a very good job at moving on with her life, yet still holding on to what was once/is near and dear to her - Sergio.  It affected me because it made me realize that even though my grandfather was gone, it didn't mean my life was never going to rebound to wholeness or what it could be.  Tanya found Ray Tepper, and not only did she have children, against her earlier refusal out of love for Sergio, but she moved on to a happy full life.
     The time lapse structure really gave the audience a perspective of the healing over the actual and emotional scars over time - or in the case of Tim Brown, the development of a scar.  However, in one regard I think the time lapse structure lacked transition between one year to another.  The characters spoke truly and whole-heartedly, but they did so with the cuts of year lengths in between.  I found it difficult to jump from character point to character point.
     The most important thing I took away from these stories was the importance to move on, keep trying, and keep a positive attitude.  In the cases of each of the 9/11 victims, they were reborn.  I mean, Ling Young seemed so upset at the beginning of the film, but at the end she had not only given up on surgeries but was happier than ever.  Brian Lyons, who aided in the building of the Freedom Tower, and made it through Post Traumatic Stress Disorder into a happy mellow life with his family.  Each of the characters moved away from the sadness of 9/11 and came lush gardens of what I would call the greatest consolation - freedom, at any extent, from the pain associated with the collapsing of the World Trade Centers.