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| Beyond 911: Portraits of Resilience (TIME) |
I'm embarrassed to say that the historical significance of today did not cross my mind until I had been awake for a few hours, gotten ready, eaten breakfast, and put Addie down for her morning nap.
Then it hit me: Today is the eleventh day of September.
It's been eleven years since the September 11th.
I was in middle school then and remember coming downstairs for breakfast like it was any other school day. My dad had the news on, leaning forward and intently listening to what the reporters were saying.
Something was wrong.
I could feel it from the moment I came into the family room.
When he told me that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers, I didn't get it. My seventh-grade mind hadn't even heard of the Twin Towers before. Crazy that a plane had crashed into a big building, but what did it mean?
I didn't know how many thousands of people worked in those buildings or that multiple planes had been hijacked that day. I didn't know that both towers would crumble to the ground in a horrific way.
I didn't know that our country would be affected forever.
I remember sitting in my language arts class later that morning, the room silent of the usual chatter, everyone's eyes glued to the television. We didn't quite understand the effects of what was happening, but we knew that it was big.
My memory only holds a few short snippets of that day.
But what I remember best is how our country pulled together in patriotism and respect on the days following.
Judgmental barriers went down for a while and we all just repeated "God Bless America" over and over.
We were united. We could get through it. We were strong.
TIME put together an exquisite ten-year commemoration last year. (Find it here.)
I love that it's entitled "Portraits of Resilience."
I encourage you to take some time today and listen to a few of the stories expressed in the videos.
Those people have endured a lot of heartache, but they have pressed on, finding strength in their anguish.
Whatever may be weighing us down today, let us choose to resiliently push forward like these people did, like our country did, that we may learn from our trials, hold onto each other in charity and respect, and become better human beings.