I am going to take a small break from blogging about writing and just take a post dedicated to the horrific event that happened 16 years ago. I am only nineteen years old so I do not have a memory of where I was when I found out about the attack on the twin towers. As I scroll through Facebook I just see post after post of people telling where they were and every detail they remember. I remember learning about what happened when I was in first grade and I remember being in shock that I was unaware of that happening. I always had a big heart and I remember crying because so many people had died. I never understood fully the devastation of what happened because they did not give us all the facts because we were in elementary school. When I was seven, my family took a trip to New York City. I remember begging my parents to take us to the place where the towers used to stand. I was eager to learn more about it and I thought seeing the place where it happened would solve my curiosities. I am so glad that they didn’t take me when I was that young.
I did not see the full footage of the event until I was in fifth or sixth grade. I knew that I had seen pictures of the smoke surrounding the buildings and before and after pictures but I wanted to see the footage. So it was a Tuesday night in March and I decided I was going to watch one news story on it. Unfortunately for me, I chose one that did not focus on the actual planes hitting the buildings. I found a video that focused on the bodies jumping from the building and people describing the sound of bodies crashing into the ground. I don’t remember much else from that night except my parents coming into my room and I was crying and shaking more than I ever had. I went into shock. My parents sat down with me and explained everything that happened and told me stories of the brave men and women who were able to save so many lives. I felt better but ever since then I got an awful sickness when I heard of a plane crash.
Throughout middle school and high school, we would always dedicate a history class to 9/11 because it is important to remember and honor the people who died on that day. I would dread that day because it made me sick and I would always start crying in class and I didn’t understand why. It had been years since I had freaked out about the footage and I had even watched that footage in later years and I was not affected by it as much. It wasn’t until senior year of high school that I fully understood why I struggled to learn about 9/11.
A group of 18 of us went on a mission trip to Staten Island and we did much exploring throughout the other boroughs of NYC. On Thursday we went to Ground Zero and I was beyond excited because I had wanted to go there for eleven years. People had described it to me but I was excited to see it for myself. The moment I walked up to the memorial and I put my hand on the metal, I looked down and saw my fingers covering a name. I began to sob uncontrollably. All the feelings I felt that first night I watched the footage all came back to me and I was a mess. Every little thing made me cry harder, whether it was a flower placed next to a name or hearing someone say “I found him/her” as they point to a name. It was one of the most powerful places I have ever been to. Even though it is in one of the busiest cities on the east coast, it was so quiet. I was in awe, but I felt as if I had closure and the peace of mind I needed.
I don’t get sick or cry on September 11th anymore, I do say that it is my least favorite day. On this day though, I am proud to be an American and I would not want to call any other place my home. I have so much love and pride for the way my country responded on that day and the days and weeks afterward. The lives that were saved by police officers and firemen who rushed into the buildings to save others while also risking their own lives, is an act of nobility that I admire greatly. The song God Bless The U.S.A by Lee Greenwood is one that I listen to every year on this day and get goosebumps every time. It was a horrible time in history and there are many people who have harsh words and feelings towards everything that happened but it is important to remember the people who died, who survived and who were affected by it. It is history and history is supposed to be remembered.
Now I guess I can’t write a full blog post without recommending a book. The summer after my senior year I read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. It is about a young boy who lost his father in 9/11 and how he is coping with the situation. It is heart wrenching and heartwarming and I would encourage everyone to read it!
Quote of the day: “In bed that night I invented a special drain that would be underneath every pillow in New York, and would connect to the reservoir. Whenever people cried themselves to sleep, the tears would all go to the same place, and in the morning the weatherman could report if the water level of the Reservoir of Tears had gone up or down, and you could know if New York is in heavy boots.”
― Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close