may we never forget

I'll be honest, I've gone back and forth on the idea of posting something today. I actually wrote out a post last night, and deleted it this morning. Then, today, I realized I had to post something.

I didn't lose anyone in the 9/11 terrorist attack. No one I know was affected in any way that I have ever heard of. So, I struggle with the idea of blogging about it. It isn't my pain, it isn't my story. I grew up with two parents, I didn't lose one. There are people who did. Who lost a spouse. Or a child. Or a friend. There are people who were in the middle of it and are celebrating ten more years of life today.

But we all gained something, even if we didn't have to lose something to get it. We all gained a sense of pride in our country, in the good that was done that day, in the bravery of the men and women who ran to go do something to help. And we gained a sense of unity. We were united, no one could break us.

I remember what I was doing that morning. I remember watching the second tower fall. But mostly, I remember feeling scared. I was only eleven, but I didn't have to understand everything that was going on to know that this was bad and that life would never be the same. And life wasn't the same. We changed, all of us. Our mindsets changed. But it wasn't from fear. We grew in strength, in our support of each other and in our country. Every year around this time, I can easily recall my fear, but more than that, I remember the pride. The pride in us. And the sorrow for deaths unimaginable.

I didn't lose anyone, but I don't want to ever forget what people lost and people gained. United we stood, and united we still stand. God bless the USA.

9/11/01. May we never forget.


Thanks to Fox News for the above video. Guardian has a video from the perspective of photojournalists and writers who were covering the events in New York as they unfolded. And Life has a ton of images of 9/11, the days that followed, and the history of the towers as they were built.