10 years ago, I was a senior at Annandale High School. It was a morning like any other for the beginning of a new school year. The sun was shining, not a cloud was in the sky. I was headed to my athletic training class and heard the word spread in the hallways that something had happened to one of the twin towers in New York. As soon as I got into class, our teacher turned the TV on CNN and we watched to see what was happening. It was a morning of confusion, fear, sadness, anger, and helplessness. I vividly recall watching the 2nd plane hit the second tower live. We all wondered, was that a replay of the first? What was happening? There can't have been another plane that accidentally flew into a building. Later the reports came in about the plane crashing into the Pentagon, and the plane crashing in Pennsylvania. The word 'terrorism' reigned through the halls. No school work got done that day. We were all glued to the TV screens in every classroom. My fellow students were comforting each other, hugging in hallways, supporting friends trying to reach their parents via phone who worked in the Pentagon. After school, a bunch of my neighborhood friends came over to my parents house. We wanted to do something. But what can you do at a time so desperate? We decided we would all go together to donate blood, but when we arrived, they turned us away, saying they had an influx and to come back another time. So we decided to drive past the Pentagon that night. I will never forget the images of the black charred building, the smoke still lingering in the air, and the eerie quiet that permeated Washington D.C. I remember it like it was yesterday.
I was one of the lucky ones. I didn't personally know anyone lost on that tragic day. But that didn't stop me from crying, or missing them, or feeling pain and anguish. Even today. I have spent much of today brought to tears. I woke up this morning and re-watched the coverage from that September morning 10 years ago. I've seen countless commercial dedications, and tributes at sports events. I have been moved to tears for those families who were torn apart that day. The hardest part for me is how unfathomable it is for people in this world to have so much hatred that they could prepare, initiate and carry out such a despicable plan. And how those people sleep at night.
My wish for the future is that every child will get to live in a world where acts of terror and hatred do not exist. I think of my kindergarten students who were not even born on 9/11/2001. They are so blissfully unaware of how horrific that day was and is for so many Americans. I can only pray that those brave soldiers, firefighters, police officers, and all of the people who choose, everyday, to stand up and protect our country and our freedom, are successful. My gratitude for the people who defend this country can never be put into words. Tonight, I think especially of the innocent lives lost that day, the families who will forever be affected, the brave men and women who worked to save lives and sacrificed their own safety in the process, and the solders who fight each and everyday to keep our great nation safe. God Bless America.
