9/11/12. Eleven years later...

Will every September 11^th for the rest of my life feel like such a huge day? 11 years ago the world changed with the terrorist attacks. I was in 7^th grade and was the perfect mix of very aware that something bad was happening and yet not aware enough to be a bundle of anxiety and panic. In my own little world, everyone knows what September 11^th was. Everyone knows what happened, everyone knows the times, everyone knows the years. Apparently I am wrong. My roommate is teaching 7^th graders right now and today she came home and informed me that a few of her 7^th graders didn’t know what really happened on September 11^th. They’d heard stories or read about it in the textbooks, but they didn’t really get it. At first I was shocked and appalled. But then I realized that these children were only a year old when the attacks occurred 11 years ago. They’ve grown up hearing about terrorism and the Middle East and the War on Terror. Much like I can’t really grasp the fullness of what happened during Pearl Harbor, these children only really know September 11^th as a historical event, rather than a memory. Not me. I have my own account of that day, and my own vivid memories, which I shared last year in another blog post here. This year feels slightly different though. Back in June I had the opportunity to visit Ground Zero while in New York City. I had been before, back in 2006, when it was still debris, steel scraps, and some makeshift memorials. Going back now was a completely different experience. The tower was almost done being built, the memorial park was beautiful, and the museum was incredibly powerful. When I stepped into the memorial park I was immediately overcome with emotions. 2 large reflecting pools are set up where each tower used to stand. There are large stone plaques engraved with the names of the victims. To stand in front of those pools was powerful. It was so strange to think that this was once the site of such chaos and turmoil. People were standing in this exact spot, some in shock, some running, screaming, crying, looking for loved ones, etc. There were firefighters, policemen, and paramedics all saving lives in that park. I can’t imagine being there that day. I can’t imagine moving past that. I believe that if you were there that day, that would be one of those defining life moments where you categorize your life into pre 9/11 and post 9/11. I can’t imagine going one day without thinking about that fateful Tuesday. So let’s all remember to take a minute today, and everyday, to be grateful for what we have and the life we have been given. Not everyone makes it to tomorrow, so the fact that we’re still here today is a blessing.

A helmet from the FDNY Battalion Chief

A timelife of events. I will never forget watching the 2nd plane hit live as it happened on the news.

The new One World Trade Center.

Tower One reflecting pool. A whole building that contained many lives once stood here.

One of the reflecting pools. God Bless America!

 

September 11th: 10 years later

I love America. I do. I’d consider myself patriotic and I sing the National Anthem off-key just like every other American. But today, of all of the days, I feel especially proud to be an American. 10 years ago today, on September 11^th, 2001, American was changed forever.
It started as any other ordinary day. I was in 7^th grade and I remember every detail of that day, from sun up to sundown. Everyone has memories and stories from that day. Here’s mine:

It started out as just an ordinary Tuesday. My mom was out of town, in Alaska helping my aunt prepare for the birth of my cousin. At the time, I was in 7^th grade at Wilmington Academy of Arts and Sciences- potentially the tiniest middle school ever (The school consisted of 2 double wide trailers and a room in a church). I remember that morning our teachers split us up, boys and girls, and took us into classrooms to talk about “body changes” and hygiene. I remember being absolutely horrified and thinking that it was going to be the worst day ever. Little did I know. We were then dismissed to Language Arts with Mrs. Hodges. I was sitting next to a girl named Chelsey in the back row on the far right. Mrs. Hodges cell phone vibrated a few times before the main phone rang in the building. I remember the look on Mrs. Hodges face when she answered the phone. First she looked annoyed, then surprised, scared, and sad. She informed us that it was her husband and he told her that the World Trade center had been hit by a plane. At first this didn’t really seem like such a huge deal. It must have been a mistake. Maybe a few people got hurt. But I realized it was much more serious when she excused herself to go inform the other teachers. All of the students then gathered in one trailer and turned on the TV. The students sat on the floor and in chairs and anywhere there was a space, while the teachers stood in the back of the room- some one their cell phones, some with a blank expression, and some crying. At this point I knew it was serious, but still wasn’t sure of what exactly was happening. It all became real when at 9:03 Flight 175 crashed into the South Tower. We watched this happen live on TV, and we all then knew that this was not an accident. 56 minutes later, we were still watching TV as the South Tower crumbled. I remember feeling confused and sad. I remember wondering what was coming next. It was shortly after that phone calls started flooding into the school. Parents were calling to make sure their children were alright, some even picked up their kids. Meanwhile, it was the middle of the night for my mom who was 6 hours behind in Alaska. The rest of the day was kind of a blur. We watched so much TV that day. You could tell that the teachers wanted to try to move on with the day, but everyone was so distracted and you couldn’t help but feel like you’d miss something huge if you turned off the TV. But we did eventually pull ourselves away. We were scheduled to have a “cultural lunch” that day, so the whole school went and ate outside. It was pretty quiet, except for the whispers of guessing and speculation. Finally word had gotten to my mom, and she called the school in a complete panic. Because she was in the middle of nowhere Alaska, she didn’t get TV or radio, so she had to rely on my Dad to relay the message of what was going on in NY. I’m fairly positive my dad ended up telling my mother that “they were blowing up NY. They were blowing up the country.“ Can’t blame the poor guy for being a little dramatic. No one knew how to explain it. No one knew exactly what was going on. My best friend, Sarah, and her mom came to pick me up at the normal time and I went over to her house until my dad got off of work. I remember sitting in Sarah’s room and talking about our days together. Because she went to a bigger public school, they didn’t let them watch TV or make an announcement. This was one of the few times that I was thankful to have gone to my tiny little private school. Later that night my dad came and picked me up. We went home and turned on the TV. The news was on every channel. I remember sitting with my dad in his chair and having this conversation- “Dad, is this going to be on the news for the whole night?” He responded “yes”. “Will it be on the news for the whole week?” “Yes”. “Will it be on the news for the whole month?!?” “Yes. Honey, this will be on the news for a very, very long time.”
I remember we turned off the news to get a break from the sadness. We talked about how it made me feel, and I claimed that I was okay. But when it was time for bed, I remember being scared that my house would be bombed while I was sleeping. I slept in my parents bed that night and prayed that I would wake up the next morning.
And although September 11^th technically ended at 11:59 that night, the experience lasted much longer.
I remember after weeks of air travel being stopped, my mom finally came home. I remember the first airplane I heard flying overhead and the sinking feeling in my stomach. I remember returning to school and talking about it with friends. I remember the news coverage. I remember seeing videos of people jumping out of the burning buildings. And I remember understanding more and more about the death and destruction that occurred that day. September 11^th is a day that no one will ever forget. And now it’s hard to believe that it has been 10 years. In those 10 years I’ve finished middle school, graduated high school, completed college, and started nursing school. We have all done a lot in 10 years, but none of us have forgotten. So today, on this day, September 11^th, 2011, let’s unite and be proud of our country and let’s not forget the heroes, the fallen, and the families and children.