We Will Never Forget

September 11, 2001. Every American can remember where they were that day and exactly what they were doing when they found out the World Trade Centers had been attacked.

I was in 7th grade and had just walked into choir. All around me eighth graders were talking about some program they had watched during their previous class. Apparently a plane had been flown into a building, the details were not mentioned. I thought it was just something pertaining to a specific eighth grade class. Possibly a movie, or just a sick sadistic joke one of the eighth graders was telling.

Then the choir director walked in. She took a seat in front of the choir and looked down at her hands. A silence rarely heard in the choir room spread and settled over the forty, or so, seventh and eighth graders. Mrs. Allen, the choir director, announced that we would not be singing that day. She then informed those of us that did not already know, that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Centers in New York. I was thrown into a state of disbelief. The unimaginable had occurred.

For the rest of the class Mrs. Allen allowed everyone to talk out their emotions. She also let students with parents on scheduled flights call their families to make sure that everything was okay. During that class hour, the second WTC building was crashed into by another commercial jet. It was at this time that I, even as a twelve year old, knew that life was taking a drastic turn. Things would not be the same on September 12th as they were on September 10th. However, even though I was privy to all this information, no other teachers would talk about the occurrences in New York throughout the rest of the day.

Once I arrived at home after school, I turned on the television to see continuous news reports about the attacks in New York. I also became informed about additional attacks that had occurred as the day continued. The Pentagon was crashed into killing an additional hundred people. The White House was also targeted, but had not been reached because of the brave members of a fourth plane that had been grounded in Pennsylvania. I was sent into a spell of shock mixed with fear and sadness. Living close to a major airport did not help either. I heard the loud rumble of jet engines from the air above my house, which sent chills down my spine. I sat on the couch in my living room not knowing what to do next.

Yet, the impact of the 9/11 events had a small effect upon me. I lost no family members on that day. My life was not threatened by a highjacked plane. Yet, I saw classmates shed tears because they were not able to contact their parents who had boarded a plane that morning, or were in New York on business. I saw the heartache the 9/11 attacks caused, and every year I remember it.

September 11th has cast a scar upon American history, but it has also created another moment for every citizen of the United States to come together and support your fellow neighbor who may be hurting and feeling the pain life can sometimes foster. So today and tomorrow and every other day that you continue to live with the privilege of representing America, think of those who died in the 9/11 attacks and those who gave their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq.