Reflections on September 11, 2001

Can anyone believe it's been 11 years since 9/11/01 (or here, we'd write it 11/9/01)? 

In 2001 I was five years old, and a kindergartener. There was no way I comprehended death or disasters. The attacks meant nothing to me because I just didn't understand them. It didn't make sense to me why people were crying or the same grainy video of planes crashing kept replaying. I don't even know if I thought the towers falling or the Pentagon burning was bad. All the tragedy went over my head.  As I got older, I still didn't really understand why people seemed so sad around this time of year. That level of devastation was incomprehensible to me as a child.

I think the eighth anniversary of 9/11 was the first time I really understood it. I would have been in 8th grade, thirteen, and generally old enough to understand the basics of human suffering. I remember watching a video about 9/11 in class, holding the moment of silence after the Pledge of Allegiance extra long. It hit me all of the sudden like a tidal wave hits the shore- overwhelming.

I’m not going to lie and say that I remembered it was 9/11 first thing in the morning today, or that I reflected all day about the terrible things that occurred.  9/11 has forever scarred the hearts of the American people.  We need to learn from that day. We need to apply it practically to ensure the safety of everyone as much as possible. We need to remember those who lost their lives, and honor those who responded on that day.

In the weirdest way possible, I am quite optimistic about humanity in general. I believe we all have the ability to get along with each other as long as we are tolerant.  Shoving one's opinion down another's throat is wrong on many levels to me. I'm not going to pretend I don't hate the extreme individuals that caused 9/11. However, I think it's worth remembering that even now, those individuals are not good examples of the groups they come from.

Regardless, the tragic events on that day forced a country to come together united by grief and anger. Remember that  while united we stand, but when divided we all eventually crumble to the ground.