It's Sept. 11, 2001. I'm sitting in my second-grade classroom, early in the morning, listening to my teacher for what seemed like another typical day. Suddenly the phone starts ringing off the hook; students are being called down for early dismissal left and right. We're all very confused because we always know when our parents would pick us up early, we would bring a note in excitedly knowing we would get out early. None of us had brought a single note in, however, we were all leaving. I patiently waited my turn to be taken home by my mom; she wasn't herself, but she did her best to smile. Once we got home, my parents talked to me about something bad that had happened in New York City. The next few weeks were filled with tears, a lot of praying, repeated videos of the attacks and the damage and a horrifyingly increasing number of deaths.
Everyone I have ever talked to can remember that exact day, how beautiful the weather was, what they were doing, who they were with, what they had eaten, etc. It seems that tragic and significant events in our lives trigger this, the ability to remember such minuscule details that we wouldn't remember on any other day. The thing is, where we were, what we were doing should not be the only thing we remember about this day.
We should never forget the nearly 3,000 lives lost and over 6,000 lives that were injured. We should never forget the firefighters who ran towards the flame while everyone else ran from it. We should never forget the friends and families who lost a loved one that day. We should never forget the passengers of flight 93 who fought the hijackers even though they knew their fate would be the same. We should never forget the 9-1-1 operators who remained calm although they knew the end results of the final phone call. We should never forget the workers who held onto each other as the building crumbled underneath of them. We should never forget the global support that was shown in a time of tragedy, even countries who didn't always agree with our government were offering their help. We should never forget the pilots who went into the air immediately with no ammunition knowing they might have to stop another plane with their own. We should never forget the countless number of volunteers who donated so many hours to help pick up the pieces of a shattered country. We should never forget the police officers and K-9 units who worked day and night in search of victims who might be stuck under the rubble.
We should never forget President George Bush saying "Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America." We should never forget that he also had no problem addressing the obvious terrorism and promised that the United States would triumph over terrorism—”stop it, eliminate it, destroy it where it grows.” We should never forget the new and already established charities who rigorously raised money to send to NY. We should never forget the EMTs and paramedics who ran on no sleep trying to save as many lives as possible. We should never forget the victims who haven't been identified to this day. We should never forget the countless blood donors who were more than honored to help even in the smallest way. We should never forget the 3,000 children who never got to see their parent again. We should never forget the anger and rage that the name Osama Bin Laden brings us to. We should never forget the feelings we experienced when we found out the Navy Seals took down that same man. And we should never forget how America didn't fall apart like the terrorists had hoped, that we proudly came together and stood stronger than ever.
Despite what many people have been saying lately, what the news chooses to show, what social media depicts, what people are standing for (or sitting), I am proud to be an American. I am proud of our country and even more proud of the freedom we have thanks to the men and women fighting for it every day. Take the time today to remember why we should never forget 9/11 and say an extra thanks and be proud for being able to live in this great country we can call home (because if you're not proud I'm not entirely sure why you're still here). And most of all, God Bless America.
