Life on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, was like any other day on December 7, 1941. The day was sunny, with clear skies and the temperature was a perfect 75°. Having lived on the island of Oahu all my life, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I lived in a small but cozy shack with a window overlooking Pearl Harbor. I enjoyed every moment of life there, just as any other civilian would. I was an only child and my father had died when I was just an infant. My mother had been diagnosed with leukemia and could not work; not even getting out of bed. I already had a job, but I had to get a part-time job on Sundays to accommodate my mother's loss of income. During the week, I worked as a chef at a street vendor, cooking saiman, a traditional Hawaiian noodle soup. Every Sunday I would set off on my single gear bike early in the morning around 6.30am. My job was to throw an Oahu Weekly newspaper at people's front doors, then go ahead and do the same for another house. I repeated this process for about 250 homes. I would be exhausted by the end of my shift, but I desperately needed that extra money. I was 16 at the time. I started working at the age of 14. Most teenagers only went to school until eighth grade, unless you were rich. This wasn't uncommon for teenagers my age. From an economic point of view the island was doing well, but there were some poor families. My mother and I were not poor but we didn't have much money. Poor, less fortunate teenagers my age would have joined the Navy and almost all of them would have been stationed at Pearl Harbor. My friend Aikane (which means friend in Hawaiian) was in the same situation as me. He and I could easily relate. His mother also had leukemia but he... middle of paper... had entered World War II. During FDR's speech he said, "With confidence in our armed forces - with the boundless determination of our people - we will achieve the inevitable triumph - so help us God. I ask that Congress declare that from Japan's unprovoked and cowardly attack of Sunday, December 7, a state of war exists between the United States and the Japanese Empire." We were at war. There had been patients in hospitals for months. Bodies and body parts covered the port. The demolished port remained that way for a while until reconstruction could begin. It was very tragic, but Americas should have used this day as a turning point and a learning experience as a way to improve and prevent this from happening again. I and everyone else should just continue with our lives, despite all the deaths