Remembering 9/11

As a particularly nostalgic person, I find myself in an interesting position, writing a piece about the 10^th anniversary of 9/11.  The attacks took place at a particularly critical juncture of my life and in my development as a human being.  I was a senior in high school, preparing to apply to college and transitioning to the beginning of adulthood.  In fact, I was in my high school guidance office dropping off college paperwork when I overheard one of the guidance counselors mention that the White House had been evacuated.  Only later that morning was this information solidified via an announcement by our principal over the PA system.

The whole experience was surreal, in the most negative sense possible.  Looking back, I don’t think that I truly grasped the magnitude of what had occurred.  I was neither fearful, nor fearless.  After all, I was in the midst of applying to college and trying to improve my SAT scores.  To make matters more difficult, my grandfather passed away less than a month later and then my grandmother passed only a few weeks later.  It was the first time in my life that I really had to deal with the loss of family that was close to me.

Now, here I find myself, 10 years later.  Only now do I think I really appreciate the magnitude of the events that took place.  I find no comfort in watching the many memorials on television and perhaps that’s not a bad thing.  At the same time, the NFL season starts up again today, yet I feel less than inclined to pay attention to that either.  Rather, I’m watching the first game played at Shea Stadium post-9/11.  The Yankees made the World Series again and, despite two dramatic comebacks in the Bronx, fell short in Arizona.  For several years, I actually thought the Yankees’ failure was but another devastating blow to a demolished city.  However, just as it took me several years to realize the magnitude of the events of 10 years ago, it took me only a few fewer years to realize how insignificant the results of a mere baseball game were.  In retrospect, I think we were all just grateful for the fact that the Yankees gave us the opportunity to enjoy life once again, even if only for a few brief fleeting moments.

In looking back, I’ll look at 9/11 as more than a mere attack on our country and an affront on all that we hold dear.  Rather, it will always stick out in my mind as the end of my innocence and the beginning of my adulthood.  I look at my life and the state of our world since then and wonder whether or not things were always tumultuous or whether they were and I’ve only recently begun to realize it.  Today, we honor the memories of those that we lost, but what will happen tomorrow.  We consistently state how resilient we are as a people and how we stand united as one people, yet we can’t seem to agree upon the best way to ensure healthcare for every citizen of our country or how best to put the country’s unemployed back to work.

So today, let us honor the memory of those who sacrificed themselves for us by trying to improve the world that they left behind.  And more importantly, make sure to reach out to those in your life who you love and let them know how special they are to you.

On a side note, 9/11 has an additional significance for me.  It is the birthday of our beloved and late-family dog, Yogi.  Yogi passed away in 2010, ironically on July 4.  Just want to send out a happy birthday wish to my best friend and brother, who would have been 14 today.  I love you boy!