Remembering 9/11
It was the first month of my first semester in college. Having decided to stay disciplined away from home, I had signed up for an 8:30 weight training class. I returned from the gym that morning very sweaty and plopped down on the bed in my small dorm room. I lay there for a few minutes, wondering if I should work in a quick nap before my next class, then decided to watch some television instead.
I flipped through the channels, eventually deciding to take in an old episode of ER. When I stopped on the channel, my first reaction was to be annoyed. I hate watching the news most of the time, and seeing a bulletin broadcast was somewhat perturbing. After a few seconds of watching the World Trade Center footage, however, that feeling faded.
I, like many others, remember that day well. I remember informing my hall mates of what was going on only to find that they were already fixated on their own TVs. Though I never saw them, I remember hearing about other students frantically making their way to New York. I remember thinking how lucky I was not to have any relatives who lived there. I remember the cancelled classes and the candlelight vigils that followed, along with the pervasive surrealism of it all, like everyone was thinking at the same time, “How could this have happened?”
I don’t really know where I’m going with this post. There’s no point to be made. I’m not a patriot and I don’t agree with the war in Iraq. Still, I’m an American. I can’t help but remember it, especially on a day like today. Whatever your ideological stance, it’s definitely worth taking a minute out of your day to reflect on.