Monday, September 11, 2017

9/11 - 16 Years Later



16 years ago today I had just walked to my second class that morning. I was a senior in high school. A teacher from the class I had just come from said nothing as he walked straight to the television to turn on the image of the first tower engulfed in flames. There was a silence that filled the room. Surely, these people will get out I remember thinking. Maybe a few in the building died during the impact, but it's over, right?

A short time later a plane hit the second tower. My gut still wrenches at the thought of seeing people jump from the buildings. I can't imagine making that decision: burn or jump. It didn't take long to realize that the world, and this country, would be different from that point forward. There were many tragedies that day, but we as a country decided to collectively raise our flag. For all our differences, we united as one, we mourned as one, and we fought as one. Its hard to imagine that, 16 years later, we are protesting that very flag that we raised together!

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