Yesterday was officially 10 years since the life altering event and it still feels like yesterday. Most people can tell you exactly what they were doing on that day, where they were, what they ate, who they were with, how they felt, ect. It was a life changing event in each of our personal histories. It is a story that will inevitably be passed down to each new generation.
As the anniversary approached and the images and videos began to be replayed it felt as if I was reliving that day all over again. Ten years ago yesterday I was a Junior in High school. I was in a debate team and super competitive. We were working on our latest debate topic that would be more relevant than I could have ever imagined- "Resolved: That the United States federal government should establish a foreign policy significantly limiting the use of weapons of mass destruction."
This was the "topic" I had been working on and was looking forward to attending a conference that morning on the subject. My debate partner and I had to arrive at school early, 7:00am CST. We got to school and were gathering our notepads and items to leave. All of a sudden I noticed the office secretary rushing out of the front office into the library. She came back a few minutes later with a television on a rolling cart. She set it up in the office and said "You have to come see this!". I walked in and saw the most terrifying image I could imagine. The World Trade Center was burning and no one seemed to understand what just happened. News reporters were talking about a possible plane crash into the building. Initially I thought how horrible. What an awful mistake.
We watched for a while and then the debate teacher said it was time to leave for the conference. We were gathering our things and were taking once last glance at the television when we saw the second plane hit the second tower. Everyone gasped and I saw a look of sheer horror on everyone's face. We now knew this was no accident. My teacher calmly took us to the van and said "We need to talk".
We started driving and it was silent for a moment then my teacher said, "Well this changes the debate topic a lot doesn't it?" She proceeded to say that NOW as of this moment a "Weapon of Mass Destruction is undefined". It can be anything, a plane, a car, 100 men with machetes, anything that can do mass harm. Here we had been talking about nuclear bombs, chemical warfare, and missile programs, and now in one instant our definition of "weapon of mass destruction" changed significantly. She tried to keep us preoccupied with determining how we would redefine OUR DEBATE definition and we started talking about it.
As we were driving we heard that Pentagon had been hit and that a fourth plane had crashed. When we got to the conference there was a lot of chatter and everyone seemed nervous. Our speaker came to the stage and said "Well I had an entire speech outlined for you today, but it seems irrelevant now". Our conference turned into a Q&A.
After everything had settled and we learned of the collapsed towers, the mass devastation, and death toll I remember having a sense of fear. As I watched the footage I couldn't imagine what those people had to endure and I kept thinking "what it that was me". I didn't want to die and I feared death more than anything. I thought about all the things I would miss if I were to die and felt as though my life ending would be the worst possible situation for ME.
Ten years later my life is completely different. I now am a mother to three beautiful children and a wife. When I watch the footage today I have a completely different sense of devastation. Instead of thinking how my death would affect ME, I now worry how my death would affect my children and spouse. My fear is no longer of my personal pain and loss of dying, but of not knowing how my children and husband would be affected by it. It is so much different seeing the images and stories as a 27 year old versus a 17 year old. It is not something that can be described in words. I only hope that each of us lucky enough to be here really appreciate what we have. This really is a time for reflection and learning.
So here is to REMEMBERING!
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