always remember 9/11

everybody reflects in their own way. splattered all over facebook walls and instagram feeds are images and words of that haunting day. i don't blame people for recalling and retelling where they were on this day twelve years ago when they heard the news. i'm sure every person remembers exactly what they were doing at the very moment they understood the reality of what was really happening. everybody who was a part of our nation was touched in some way by that day and it's significance will never be forgotten. but let's not focus on where we as individuals were on that day. that's really not of importance, is it?

let's focus on the love and support that arose from the people who were once nobody to us. in a nation divided by fifty, we all became one. when the traumatic images replayed over and over on television screens, we simultaneously watched in pain. when the tragic numbers came back about the innocent losses, we all cried in our own way. when good samaritan stories about people running back into fallen buildings were told, our hearts lit up though still fearing their potential fate. when 343 firefighters lost their lives in order to save so many more, we felt heartbreak and admiration. for all of the volunteering that was done, for all the donations made, for all the fearlessness of the citizens who helped drag the helpless out of the rubble, for all the men and women who risked themselves to defend us overseas, for all the tears shed and hugs given, thanks! thanks for giving hope to a nation under distress. thanks for making us a unit and proving that even though we are not without disparity, we can have each other's backs.

i remember 9/11 for bringing to light the courage, unity, and hope of this nation and it's people.