I want to say I have no "personal attachment" to September 11th. BUT, as an American, don't we ALL have a personal attachment to that day. Lets face it... we ALL know where we were when we heard the news and we ALL spent that night praying, worrying and wondering how our lives would change. I happened to be 19 and in college. As your typical 19 year old, I was in college studying idealistic theories and abstract thoughts. The world was at my feet. I could do and be anything I put my mind to, those were ideals that formed my generation, right? September 11th changed that for me. Osama bin Laden changed my world, just as he did yours. I guess it never really occurred to me until today.
September 12th I looked at the world differently. Grief, death, tragedy, loss, change, and war became a part of my life and everyone around me. I started caring and studying outside of myself and the abstract figures and theories of far away as perhaps never before. I'm not sure any singular day, any event has shaped my world as much as that. I'm not saying from that time on, I never had a juvenile thought or action, but as of September 11, 2001, I knew and appreciated so much more than ever before. And, I knew how blessed I was (and am) to be an American and exactly what that meant. God Bless America.
I guess I never thought about it that way, but that was definitely a life changing day for me, too, and in many of the same ways. Tom and I were engaged at the time. I was in Laramie and he was in Ogden. I just remember thinking about him the most and about our little family that would be coming in the next few years. I guess those times are when we realize what is most important to us. Thanks for reminding me. :)
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