I know I'm a few days late with this, but I still wanted to write down my thoughts on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. I still can't believe it's been ten years...
I was a freshman in college on September 11, 2001, just starting my second week at Utah State. My classes didn't start until 10:30 on Tuesdays, so I slept in a little bit and took my time getting ready on those days. I had just gotten up when my roommate Skipper yelled on her way out the door that a plane had hit one of the World Trade Center towers. As far as she knew as she left for a day full of classes, it had just been an isolated accident. I was a little weirded out since I had been in New York just three months earlier for a senior trip. We didn't go to the top of the World Trade Center while we were there, but I remember looking up while we wandered around the Financial District and getting a little dizzy at how tall they were. I made my way out to the living room to watch the news, curious to see what had happened. By that time, the second plane had hit the south tower. I was glued to the T.V. for as long as possible before I had to leave for class. I was watching live when the first tower collapsed and couldn't believe what I was seeing. I went to campus having just seen thousands of New Yorkers running through the streets covered head-to-toe in white ash.
There was really no point in going to school that day. The terrorist attacks were the buzz around campus; packs of students were gathered around T.V.s in the TSC (student center) getting as much information as they could. In my second class, Media Smarts, we didn't do any course work. We talked about what had happened and the implications the attacks would have on our country. The rest of the day I just remember watching the news for hours, seeing the same footage over and over and over but still not quite comprehending what had happened. I remember seeing people falling from the towers and thinking it was like something out of a movie, not something that could in any way be real.
On the days that followed, I remember how weird it was not to see any planes flying overhead. I remember patriotic logos at the bottom of every TV station. I remember American flags everywhere and attending candlelight vigils. For the first time, I remember tearing up when I heard the Star Spangled Banner and being immensely proud to be an American. I remember how patriotic and united our country became.
John and I found ourselves watching countless TV specials about the attacks after we got home from church on Sunday, and I couldn't hold back the tears as I re-watched footage that is ingrained in my brain but doesn't get brought to the surface quite so often. We went to the Healing Field in Sandy that night with my parents and brother Jason, and seeing 3,000 flags, each representing a person who died ten years ago that day, was overwhelming. As I read the short paragraph about each person attached to the flags, I couldn't help but get emotional.
As I've gotten older, I realize more and more how short and fragile life is. If there is one thing I have taken away from such a terrible tragedy, it is to love a little harder and never take anything for granted. I am so proud to live in this country and to have the freedoms and opportunities that I do. God bless America.
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