A Day to Remember

The tenth anniversary of 9/11 is coming up this Sunday. It is a day that is dear to all of us; a day we will forever remember. It is one of those days that will stick with you for the rest of your life. It is one of those days in which we remember exactly where we were when we first heard the news that American Airline flight 11 and United Airline flight 175 crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, and that there were two other airplanes that were threatening the lives of more people.

I was in first grade. School was going to start soon. My mom had run me up to drop off my books and folders in my locker before taking me down to daycare. Everything seemed normal as usual. Teachers were in their rooms preparing for the day. The hallways were relatively empty. The janitors were doing their last bit of picking up before all of the kids showed up, soon making their hard work seem like nothing. My mom and I were just chitchatting when my teacher, Ms. Walker, came out of her room with a look of horror on her face. She asked us to come into the room to see what had happened. I didn’t think much of it, but I just watched the TV like my mom and Ms. Walker were doing. I saw my mom’s face go pale. No one said a word as we watched the TV. We stood there, just staring at the TV hoping it wasn’t real; but it was.

Soon, my mom brought me downstairs so I could go to daycare while she left for work. She tried her best to cover up how she was feeling so she wouldn’t freak me out. When I got to my friends, we played like everything was ok…because we thought it was! We were too young to understand what was going on. Why were all of the teachers acting weird? Why were the TVs constantly on? As soon as school started, my teacher gave us a brief summary of what was going on. “Two airplanes hit two really big towers in New York City,” Ms. Walker explained. She didn’t go into much detail, because you could tell it was hard for her to talk about.  Before we knew it, we were spending the day coloring and playing games while my teacher sat at her desk; her eyes glued to the TV and her computer.

Then our principal, Dr. Lehner, came on the intercom every three or so minutes to start dismissing students because their parents were here to pick them up. “Pick them up?! Why do they need to be picked up?!” I thought to myself. It was a Tuesday and it was the night I was supposed to be with my dad. I didn’t think he was going to come pick me up, because he worked thirty minutes away, and he wasn’t scheduled to pick me up until five o’clock. But sure enough, my name came across the intercom! I was so excited! I got to go home!

I walked downstairs to see my dad, standing there waiting for me. I knew something was wrong with him, because he wasn’t as excited or as talkative as he normally was. But still, I didn’t think anything was wrong. We got to his apartment and he immediately turned on the TV and stayed there the rest of the afternoon and evening. I remember being upset because most of my toys were at my mom’s house, and he only had one TV that he was using and I wanted to watch the Ruggrats.  But looking back, that was nothing to be upset about considering what other people were going through that day.

The United States of America was forever changed that day. Many troops were sent overseas to fight for us. Many lives were lost. People died in New York City and Washington D.C that day and then later in the Middle East. Many people lost loved ones everywhere. Those lives were taken for no reason, and they can never be put back. They are forever gone. All we have left of them are their things and our memories of them.

Why did this have to happen? Many people blame the Islamic religion; is it really their fault though? Are all people who are Islamic bad? Can we stereotype all Muslims? No. It is not fair to them. We judge all of them, because of something a group of Muslims did to us. The truth is that the Islamic religion is one of the kindest religions out there. They are truly peaceful people; we just do not want to believe it because of how some Muslims affected our lives.

This year marks ten years since the attack on the World Trade Center Towers. There are many concerns about there being another attack. Fear is what drives us to be a better country. If this would not have happened, security would not be as good and people would not be as aware. This occurrence taught us to live together as one and it strengthened our nation. While we still have hurt inside, we know that our love ones are looking down on us and will always be there.

To all of the heroes of September 11^th, thank you.