9/11/2001: A Day We Cannot Forget

I was in my French class, 2nd period, at West Bloomfield High School. I think we were going over a quiz that we had just received back. I wasn’t the best at French, so the teacher was probably going over a lot of my mistakes.

And in one moment, nothing else mattered for the rest of the school day and school week. The principal came over the loud speaker, saying something similar to, “There’s been a plane crash at the World Trade Center.” To be honest, I didn’t readily identify the World Trade Center so I didn’t really realize the extent of these happenings. The principal then said she would keep us updated on the situation, but soon, the lunch bell sounded and the halls and cafeteria filled up quickly.

They set up about 3 TV’s in the cafeteria, and as more and more information/pictures were broadcasted, a blanket of shock and sadness struck the cafeteria. I can remember the feeling that came over me because the next few hours were so powerful that I can recapture today how I exactly felt. I wanted to go home. I wanted to go home and hug my parents. I wanted to go home to find out if the people we knew in NY were okay. In a nutshell, that moment changed and opened my perspective.

It’s human nature to forget things. We move on. We adjust. We sometimes go on in life taking it for granted, thinking we will be here forever, thinking we’ll always be around loved ones, thinking we’ll always be able to see our friends. And it’s days like 9/11/01 which put life into perspective. These days create perfect pictures. The fact is, we won’t be here forever. So, it’s important that we don’t forget days like this, because it’s days like this that remind us not to forget. Not to forget to tell your Mom you love her when you get off the phone. Things like that. It’s a reminder to never say, “I’ll do it next time.”

Here’s a poem I wrote in the 10th grade after 9/11: My prayers go out to the families of the victims that died that tragic day.

I began the day in my normal way,
the exact way I started every day.
But when I woke up I didn’t know,
our Nation would suffer a vast low blow.
Unlike anything anyone has ever seen,
thousands dead before the clock hit 11:15.
Well planned, well executed, well trained.
How do you hijack 4 planes is insane.
We have been through tragedy before,
to the families hurting, we can’t ignore.
We must continue to pray for those inside,
without much warning, there was no where to hide.
We must pull together with great unity,
now, stories of rubble is all you see.
For we will never forget this sad day,
where few have survived, and thousands still lay.
Now it is time for us to pass the test,
and prove again, that America is still best.