red, white, blue and blue.

Looking back I can remember it all so clearly.  Seven years old, a second grader at my elementary school, waiting for my mom in the carpool line.  Little did I expect when my dad pulled up that something had happened.  After all, he usually worked until he called my mom that he was on his way home from work.  But today was different.  And at seven years old I realized that something had changed and the world was no longer what we imagined it.

Twelve years later I sit down and ponder September 11 as if it were yesterday.  So much has changed since then.  Not just in my personal life, but both the organizations and communities surrounding me.  And as a new Human and Social Development major, I can understand the World Trade Center attacks on a deeper, more serious level.  While I do not want to get all inspirational or intellectual on one topic, I have come to learn how 9/11 affected different groups of people.  We talk in my class about well-being as to what well-being actually is.  And while there is no distinct answer, we talk about personal health, happiness, safety, etc. and how it affects people at the individual, organizational, and community levels.  9/11 helped us realize on that day just how important our relationships were with each other as we saw people lose their lives during an innocent work day.  We think about our personal health as we saw New York citizens flee from smoke for their health or jump from buildings for protection.  And now, even 12 years later I am thankful for the increase in airport security because it helps us protect ourselves from what has happened or what could even occur in the future.  So many events and experiences interconnected into one.

I could not be more grateful for the people surrounding me today.  This tragic event in our nation's history should not be forgotten because it ties us together.  I can say with certainty that 9/11 changed the lives of every citizen in this country in some way, shape, or form.  Today I wear a tank top with the American flag on the front as a means to identify with everyone affected and my sorority letters on the back, because even as a microcosm of the world, we all stick together.

September 11, 2001. Never Forget.