9-11: Never Forget

September 11th. The day the world changed. The day we were thrust into a new era of fear and paranoia.

Sure, some of that has diminshed in the 6 years since the tragedy. But should it have? We shouldn't live in fear, but shouldn't we respect where that fear came from in the first place? Is it a pain in the rear to have to take our shoes off when going through the security checkpoint at an airport? Sure. But in the grand scheme of things, isn't continued awareness and prevention the only way to ensure safety? If it means that a bomb won't go off on my flight (or any others), I'm perfectly ok with being inconvenienced a few times a year.

Not all areas of the country have lost the sense of urgency and need for vigilence. NYC will never be the same. Just weeks ago when the steam pipe burst, it was hysteria. A huge loud noise, smoke (or what appeared to be since it was just steam) rising into the air. Was it happening again? My own father was spared from such terror on both accounts. He decided to work from home on September 11th, and when the steam pipe burst he had taken an earlier train home out of the city. But on both occasions, he worked within a block or so of each incident.

I still remember how it was afterwards. Being at school, which was a possible target itself (there's a nuclear reactor on campus - research and such), hearing planes and instinctively looking up in fear. Wondering if there would be another attack soon, where would it happen. Endless candle light vigils, and singing of hymns. Thousands of people wandering around campus asking "Did you hear?", "Did you know anyone?", "Are you ok?", "What happens now?".

I don't think I left my dorm room once that day. Not even to go to the bathroom. I woke up as my roommate came back from her 8am class, and she'd something on the big screen in the common building. She turned on our tv and my heart and blood turned to ice. I spent then next few hours trying to call home, but not being able to get through on my cell. My mom had the presence (I don't know how) to email me and let me know that they were all ok. I was transfixed to the tv for days, tears ever present on my face. That eerie silence that followed for the next few days/weeks, will never leave my mind. No parties, no loud music, no planes over head, even street traffic declined as people stayed home, attached to their tv's.

This is a day that we should never forget. When we forget, we doom ourselves to repeat history.

Please take a minute or two today, to have a moment of silence. Think of those who were lost, and the families they left behind, due to senseless violence. Remain aware of yourself and the world you live in.

But most importantly, make sure you send love to those you hold dearest in your hearts.