I was in my dorm room watching the Today Show getting ready for my 8am class. It was my favorite class with my favorite teacher. Dr. Haney's History class. As usual I was running a little late and I saw Matt Lauer and Katie Couric announcing that a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center. I thought - hmm that's strange wonder what happened to the pilot. And then I had to hurry up so I headed off to class. By the time I had made it to class unbeknownst to me, a second plane had hit the 2nd tower. But news like this travels fast. There was already a note on the door that classes were cancelled but with no explanation. I headed to the student center where hundreds of students had gathered around the tv rooms. Packed like sardines we watched in horror as every channel was changed to a news station of some kind. By then most of us were aware that something very wrong had happened. That this was not an accident. And those who had family and friends in the area were frantically trying to get in touch with them. And not long after, the news came that the FAA was grounding all flights. I'll be honest, this is when I realized how terrifying a 24 hour news cycle could truly be. To watch over and over and over that day, those planes hitting the towers. To be able to go to you tube and see it again. The fact that today a few stations aired the coverage from that day starting from the breaking news moment. It is a sobering thing. I can not imagine the pain felt by those in the towers. Those who survived and those who died that morning. There are truly no words to express the level of sorrow I feel for them. For those families who lost a loved one and some lost multiple loved ones. For the people at the pentagon and those on the plane that fought back and refused to allow their hijackers to make it to its destination. They are truly heroes. On September, 11, 2001, I was sad. Cried tears for strangers. Cried tears of joy that no one I knew was there that day. And then cried because I thought it was so selfish of me to be glad that I wasn't directly affected. And a few days later as I celebrated my 20th birthday. I felt bad for being happy. For being out laughing and dancing with my friends, when there were thousands of people still buried in the rubble beneath those buildings. When there were families preparing to bury what was left of their loved ones.
Today I am mad. I am mad for the lives that were lost. I am mad for those first responders, the police and fire men and women, the reporters and numerous volunteers who spent weeks and months in some cases at Ground Zero and today are suffering illnesses as a direct result of breathing in the debris. The children who were born that day and after to moms who were dealing with the loss of their partners. And all the children who are growing up without one or both parents because they lost them that day. And I only hope that those children grow up and don't have so much hatred in their hearts that they choose retaliation against those they perceive to be responsible.
Today I am also sad for the war that resulted. I am sad and my heart is heavy as I think of my friends who have been to the war-zone multiple times. For those who didn't make it home and for those who literally left pieces of themselves behind. I am saddened that we haven't been able to show our servicemen and women how much we genuinely appreciate the sacrifices they and their families have made over these years. Our service men and women come home from war and should be given the utmost respect and love. And all the help they could ever need reconnecting with their families, and dealing with the aftermath of living in a war zone. PTSD is real. The divorce rate in our armed forces is high. Too high. We need more services for our servicemen and women, they deserve so much more than they have been given. We need to make sure that these services can be discreetly and easily accessed.
I didn't mean for this to get so long. I am so amazingly blessed to be an American. Our country is far from perfect but as we see daily - we are indeed blessed. So I'll end my post with this:
I will never forget!
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