Never Forget

Twelve years ago today I was in 6^th grade. I was sitting in first period math class when another teacher came in and pulled my math teacher into the hallway. I didn’t know why at the time, but when she reentered the classroom I could read on her face that something was terribly wrong. I’ll never know why, but she chose not to tell us about the horrific events happening at that very moment. Instead, she continued to teach until the bell rang.

As I began my walk across the hall to my next period, my friend, Molly, stopped me to tell me what was happening. Coming from the mouth of a twelve year old, it seemed too far-fetched to be real. I honestly didn’t even believe her. I continued on to my class where I was greeted with silence. My teacher was on the verge of tears when she explained to us that there was something we needed to see. Then she turned on the TV...

The rest of that day was a blur. I wanted to talk to my mom, but twelve year olds didn’t carry cell phones back then. I remember coming home from school that day, and I remember nothing more than watching the news all evening. It was horrible. It was unimaginable. It changed the lives of millions of Americans.

Living in Alabama, I didn’t personally know anyone who lost their lives on that day, but I was touched by every survivor I saw interviewed on the news who lost their husband, wife, mother, father, brother, sister, and child. To this day, it is still hard to fathom how such a thing could happen in our country.

Two years ago I was living in New York on the anniversary of 9/11. I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was terrified to walk down the street that day. I had a million “what ifs” running through my mind. All I could think about was what if it happened again. Thankfully, I did leave my apartment that day, and I saw a country still in pain but healing. A country thankful for all that we have. I heard stories from people who were in the city that day, stories of survival and stories of pain. Most of all, I saw a city full of citizens with great love for our country.