Remembering 9/11

On September 11, 2001, I was at school like any other day. I remember that we were about to lay down for our naps when a teacher ran into the room and told my Kindergarten teacher to turn the news on. We didn't get our nap that day because we were watching the news and seeing what was happening. I remember that my teacher was shaking and scared. I remember seeing the bodies and smoke no realizing what was happening. It wasn't until several years later that I realize what happened. The impact that event had on the United States. 9/11 was a big day at the schools I attended. In middle and high school, we would watch videos about it in history class and talk about it. We would imagine what the families and the people went through. Hearing the phone calls that the people made to their families broke my heart. I couldn't imagine what was going through their minds when they found out that their plane was being hijacked. As I grew older, the videos showed more. They showed people jumping out of the Twin Towers and the screams and blood. They made you cry because of how violent they were.

When I was a library aide, we would pull up 9/11 information up on the computers and set out books and materials for people to read. The librarian and I would listen to the memorial ceremonies on the computers. We honored the people that lost their lives that awful day. We remembered the innocent people that were a work or on the plane heading home. The people in the Twin Towers didn't know that that was their last day. They were going to work to support their families.

As I grew older, I heard about a guy that was from my hometown that was on the plane that crashed into the Twin Towers. He was headed to either Chicago or New York for a job interview. He called his mom and dad before he hit the towers. He told them that his plane had been hijacked and he was going to die. He told them that he loved them. I can't imagine what his parents or he was thinking. His parents visited New York for several years on the anniversary of 9/11 to visit the tribute. And today they are all together in Heaven celebrating.

It's hard to believe that the Freshman in high schools around the world wasn't even born yet. They didn't experience 9/11 like the rest of us did. They are hearing about it in schools and on tv while the rest of us experienced it on the day.

Today is set aside as a day of remembrance. We remember the lives that were lost on this day 15 years ago. A day that changed our lives forever. A day where we remember the heroes that risked their lives. Firefighters, police officers, first responders, and people that rushed into the buildings. We also remember the people in the Twin Towers that did not make it out. The people on the planes that tried to stop the hijackers before they did more damage. I pray for the families that were impacted.

#NeverForgotten #15years