We remember that fateful day

In one lifetime, a person is bound to bear witness to at least one event that will stay with him or her forever. Members of the older generations will tell you they remember exactly what they were doing when they watched the moon landing or when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his famous “I have a dream” speech. They also remember moments of great sorrow and can recount vividly where they were when John F. Kennedy was assassinated or when the Challenger exploded.

Our generation is no different. If you are reading this, then you saw the planes crash into the World Trade Center 10 years ago. You may have been getting ready for work, or sitting in your high school science class or even reading stories in your first grade class. But you were there. Just as the rest of America was, you were there.

Many of us relive the moment we heard the news when we just hear the words “9/11.” It was a day so powerful, so traumatizing, that our country was released from the grips of everyday life to pray, mourn and cry together.

The many lives that were lost will never be forgotten. The face and skyline of New York City changed forever that day, and we realized that New York is not that far from us. A city that never sleeps was jolted to a terrible reality that we witnessed from the comfort of our schools and living rooms. Our hearts broke for our eastern neighbors.

In the wake of the tragedy, we as Americans, if even for a moment, were bound together by the limitless web of fragile human life. We were moved to compassion. We lowered our flags to half-mast in recognition of the devastation. For a while, we looked at each other as brothers and sisters, and we felt each other’s grief.

The firefighters and servicemen and women who sacrificed their lives and well-being for their fellow human beings will always be esteemed as heroes. The quality of character possessed by these people is something that will always be respected.

Ten years later, we have not lost sight of what matters. We remain reverent to the victims and heroes of our country’s tragedies, and hope that no such events befall us again.

Ten years later, we remember like it was yesterday. And we will never forget.