September 11, 2001 is a day that everyone old enough to remember, does remember. I remember the raw emotion, watching the 2nd plane hit, watching the towers fall, and watching the Pentagon and field in Pennsylvania go up in flames and smoke. I remember the people around me, the tears, the phone calls and the intense fear that we all began to feel as more and more things unfolded on the screen in front of us.
I was living in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the time. In some ways that made us feel safer...the attacks are in America, we are not in America. However, the 9/11 attacks spurred other terror cells to make threats against American buildings and people in many foreign countries, including Argentina. Our school and embassy were threatened. Our schools became guarded not just by security guards, but by guards with machine guns (loaded). We had to sign in and out of school grounds. And personal safety was always on the minds of our parents.
Where were you? Are you still able to engage with the emotion that the day evokes for so many? I was able to spend some time today watching the memorial services that took place in DC, New York and Pennsylvania. I was moved to tears several times. And though I didn't know, personally, any of the 2,977 victims that died that day, I am emotionally distraught over the pure evil that sparked such an attack, moved by the outpouring of love and support in this country, moved by the tears of family members, and moved by this thing called life that we so often take for granted.
As this 10th anniversary comes to an end I am thankful for my life. I think of so many things that could have claimed my life thus far, and of how truly blessed I am. Just last year on September 11th I was in a rollover car accident. Not only did my friend and I walk away with our lives, but with no broken bones or chronic injuries. Each life is precious, each life is important, and each life has a purpose. This weekend has truly reminded me of this.
I was living in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the time. In some ways that made us feel safer...the attacks are in America, we are not in America. However, the 9/11 attacks spurred other terror cells to make threats against American buildings and people in many foreign countries, including Argentina. Our school and embassy were threatened. Our schools became guarded not just by security guards, but by guards with machine guns (loaded). We had to sign in and out of school grounds. And personal safety was always on the minds of our parents.
Where were you? Are you still able to engage with the emotion that the day evokes for so many? I was able to spend some time today watching the memorial services that took place in DC, New York and Pennsylvania. I was moved to tears several times. And though I didn't know, personally, any of the 2,977 victims that died that day, I am emotionally distraught over the pure evil that sparked such an attack, moved by the outpouring of love and support in this country, moved by the tears of family members, and moved by this thing called life that we so often take for granted.
As this 10th anniversary comes to an end I am thankful for my life. I think of so many things that could have claimed my life thus far, and of how truly blessed I am. Just last year on September 11th I was in a rollover car accident. Not only did my friend and I walk away with our lives, but with no broken bones or chronic injuries. Each life is precious, each life is important, and each life has a purpose. This weekend has truly reminded me of this.
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