Thirteen Years Later: 9/11: We Will Never Forget

13 years…it's hard to believe. Seems like such a short period of time but at the same time long ago that we were all changed. It's harder to feel safe, to trust, to think that things will all be okay. We took our lives for granted beforehand, our safety and security, our status as a world power that everyone listened to and almost seemed to bow down to.

One of the most common questions is: where were you when you heard?

I was in Old Main on the 4th floor in between classes. I don't remember what my first class that morning was…probably Organic Chemistry lab or something like that. The class I was going into was Honors Modern Problems in European History…a small class of only six students and one of my better professors, Dr. Costello. Standing in the lounge area of the building, there were televisions on showing the whole thing. I thought someone was watching a movie. I mean…who would do something like that to us? My friend Shaun was standing next to me, and all he kept saying was "this isn't a movie though, Marie." I remember us hugging, and shock just settled in. We talked about it the entire time in my class…sharing what we thought of it all, fears, worries, etc. When I got out, Gram was picking me up so that I could take her out for her birthday (yup, 9/11 is her birthday.) Her first words when I got in the car were "well this is the worst fucking birthday I've ever had." I had never heard her swear like that before, and I've never heard her use that word since. We just came home, and you couldn't help but just keep watching the television to see what was happening, though it put you in more and more of a deeper state of fear and depression. When my one brother and his girlfriend came home, they turned on the family room television and were watching it the whole time as well.

Since, so many things have changed in our country and our world. Some I agree with, others that I don't. This is neither the time nor place to discuss this though. The fighting hasn't stopped. I doubt it ever will. It's been going on for centuries…the weapons just get more advanced.

Two years ago, I had the opportunity to chaperone 15 freshmen to New York City…most of their first times there. We went to the World Trade Center Memorial and the church where most of the rescue mission was centered…words can't even describe, so I'm not even going to try to. There were two things that stood out to me though. First, there was a woman sobbing over the name of a lost loved one. My heart was breaking just watching her…I couldn't even imagine what she was living with, all of the loss and hurt and anguish. But then there's the tree that survived the whole thing. Its leaves were coming out from the buds. It was life. It was a little burst of hope in the middle of the endless empty holes in the ground. It was beautiful.

All that we can do is learn from this. Remember those lost, those saved, those who rescued, those who have and are still fighting for peace. There is no winning this…only hoping for peace for all. Teach those that come in future generations to seek this peace. And above all, to stand true and proud like the tree that survived.