I remember where I was on September 11, 2001. I was in seventh grade and it was still early
in the school day. I stood in Clark Lane
Middle School between the 2 staircases that meet in front of the Old Gym. I remember it being sunny outside. It was my friend Danyle’s 12th
birthday so we were all standing around her when someone mentioned something
about the Twin Towers being on fire. Not
thinking anything of it, I walked down the stairs to Mrs. Dickerson’s Living
Skills class where the TV was on. On the
screen were the two Towers, one bellowing smoke and flames. As me and a few other classmates watched, the
second plane hit and the teacher decided that was enough, and the TV went
off. Later on that day I remember
classmates being slowly picked up from school by parents and family
members. Upon arriving home, my mom and
my sister were already home, 2 things that never happened.
Every year I hear about 10 “I remember where I was” stories
and every year I sit with my Dad in our living room watching September 11th
specials on TV while my Mom, unable to watch them, sit upstairs. And I cry every year. No matter if the special is on Discovery
Channel or the Sci-Fi Channel, I cry. I
cry and get the same sense of anger as I watch the plane cut through the South
Tower like butter. But I’ve sat there, every year for the past 11 years, and
watched those specials because I felt it is my duty to understand the stories
of those involved in that day. If I can
sit here, in my house, with my family, in one piece, it is my duty to re-live
September 11, 2001 every year through the stories of those at Ground Zero.
Every year I think how fortunate I am to be where I am
today, surrounded by people who love and care for me, fortunate to be able to
tell my family that I love them when so many don’t have that option anymore.
And although every year I hear those 10 “I remember where I
was” stories, they never get old. For everyone
on that fateful day was at a different stage in their life. For me, I was still
a middle schooler with braces. For my
Dad, he was working installing windows at my uncle’s when he heard it on the
radio. For my sister, she was still in
elementary school, probably unsure what was happening around her. Everyone was at a different stage in their
life but this one momentous event brought us all together and I
realized what a great country I get to live in.
Every year as I watch those September 11th
specials and hear about the man who died helping his handicapped co-worker or
the firefighter who ran into the building knowing it was burning, I am proud to
say I live amongst some of the greatest and most courageous people on the
planet.
#NeverForget911 #GodBlessAmerica
