Where were you?

It's a question that you may have been asked or asked yourself today.

10 years ago, I was in my AP Psychology class. I think I had gotten in there early (like the nerd good student I was...no, not much has changed). Someone came into our class to tell us about it. Ms. Hyatt (who was one of my favorite high school teachers) had turned on the TV when the second plane hit. We knew our lives would never be the same. You see, most of that class was seniors. Our lives up til that day had been consumed with sadness that summer was over, discussions of what colleges we should go to, anxiety of test scores, and anticipation of what schools/scholarships we would be accepted/given. Never in our minds (or at least mine), could something like this happen.

Don't get me wrong, our school years had been affected by violence. In 7th grade, two boys shot and killed a teachers and four students in our state (Jonesboro). Two years later, as freshman, we watched in horror as the Columbine shootings occurred (I can tell you where I was when I first heard about it and what I did that night). A couple of weeks after Columbine, our school faced a bomb threat that emptied the auditorium and sent the student body home for that day. Not to mention the other bomb threats I experienced as a student. (The sad truth is that I probably don't remember all of them.)

We were all speechless. How could these people attack the might US on our soil? Yes, they had attempted to bomb it (the World Trade Center) when we were younger). I remember watching the news on it. But we were the mighty and powerful US of A. And yet, we were in chaos. All that was spoken of that day was what had happened and what did this mean for us? Would there be a war? Would it be on US soil? Would they issue a draft? I can only imagine what all ran thru our minds. Our eyes were opened to the evilness of the world around us. In many ways, we lost some innocence and grew up that day.

In the 10 years since, we have seen wars. We have seen more terrorist attacks (though none with the devastation of 9/11). We have seen more evil and seen evil people be sought and killed. Still, we have been forever changed. Never will we assume that we are safe from terrorism. Our innocence and sense of comfort and safety has forever been taken away. That's not to say that we aren't safe, but that our safety is not taken for granted.

10 years later, I sit on my couch preparing for the birth of my first child. A child who I pray never has to experience national tragedies such as September 11th. I pray, though, that we teach these children, who were not alive when 9/11 occured about this tragedy, about pride and loyalty for our nation, for those who dedicate their lives to saving others, and that they, too, will be forever changed and grateful.

September 11, 2001 will be a day that I will never forget. Where were you? And more importantly, what can we learn from that day? What can we take away from that day? What can we do to make a difference 10 years later? How can we keep the memories of those lost during this tragedy?