New Brunswick , New Jersey ( CNN ) -- September 11 was a tragedy so immense that it has sent ripples , and sometimes tidal waves , through the past 10 years . In the big picture , since 9/11 , we have become engaged in two armed conflicts , seen thousands of American soldiers die , aided countries that have been attacked by terrorists and are now living in an age where trust in government is an oxymoron . On Main Street , the broken families left behind after the dust cleared on 9/11 have been living in the shadow of that terrible memory , that terrible loss , for a decade . Some are prevailing while others are struggling , but all are struck by the loss each day . We journalism students have been interviewing children of the victims of September 11 to see how they are doing 10 years on . I interviewed a brother and sister in Colonia , New Jersey . They shared so much with me . It 's hard to write about such a sensitive subject and not want to include every minute detail . So I 'm focusing on what it is that has gotten these two through the past 10 years . When all of our stories are published in September , I think readers are really going to know these children through their experiences . In that way , I hope the children receive respect and recognition for their great achievement of moving forward over the past decade . I signed up for the 9/11 Project because it was a hands-on course in narrative journalism that would produce a documentary film and my byline in newspapers . September 11 affected me personally only slightly . At my church , some parishioners lost their son , a firefighter . Later , in November 2001 , someone broke into the church and burned our book of special intentions and an American flag standing next to it . Events like this and my observing how our society and our media have changed over the past decade make up my 9/11 experience . Since I was 12 on 9/11 , I remember the past 10 years very well . They have run parallel to my teenage years and college career , during which I became interested in journalism . The news of Osama bin Laden 's death obviously affects the stories we are writing . How could it not ? We are profiling people who lost a parent as a result of bin Laden 's commitment to terror . He was an evil man , without a doubt , and the families of those who died on September 11 can consider his death a piece of closure . But it 's not for us to say whether bin Laden 's death will help a fatherless teenager sleep better at night . I saw a Facebook status from a child of a September 11 victim this week . He wrote about bin Laden 's death . He was angry . He cursed bin Laden , and friends and family commented on it , agreeing with him . To them , he deserved a worse death . Osama bin Laden 's death obviously strikes a chord with the families of the victims , but it is n't a cure-all . I do n't know if it will help the difficult emotional process that all these families are going through . We 'll see how everything unfolds in the coming days , especially if the pictures are released . That will be a whole other story .
David Mitchell was 12 during the September 11 , 2001 terrorist attacks . He is not certain the families of those who died will ever find closure . He is curious to hear how the family he is profiling reacts to Osama bin Laden 's death .