9/11 Remembered

On September 11 of every year, Americans take a step back and remember. We all have our own stories of where we were and what we were doing. I happened to be 9 years old, sitting in a 4th grade classroom. I remember my teacher and some of the kids I used to be friends with. The rest is nothing but a blur. We weren't showed what was happening at that time. I wish I could say I saw history being made, but I didn't. What I know now is all from videos and news casts that can be replayed over and over again. But today is more about the heroes and the ones lost than the minute by minute details. It's about remembering the people stuck on the hijacked planes with no way out, the people in the towers with no way to escape, and it's about the people who put their lives on the line for others in trouble.It's also about how America came together and mourned for people who were nothing but strangers, and continue to remember them to this day.

All of this comes rushing in my head on this day every year. But when I walked into my 1st grade classroom this afternoon, I realized my students weren't even alive 11 years ago. To them, 9/11 happened a long time ago. To them, it's just some date in a history book.