September 11, 2001

I'm not politically active. I don't pay much attention to the news. But I am an American, and I remember where I was 13 years ago. I don't think I'll ever forget.

I was at college, living in the dorms. My room mate always got up earlier than me, and that morning she came back from her shower and woke me up. She had a shocked look on her face, and I could hear panicked news coverage from other dorm rooms. We turned on the news to see the first tower in flames. I was astounded. As we watched before we went to class, the second plane hit. I remember walking to my biology exam crying. My professor very somberly made a tribute to those fallen, and rescheduled our exam for the following week. All classes were cancelled for the rest of the day. I got home in time to watch the towers fall, and I cried with my room mates and dorm mates.

My mom called me later that day to tell me that her brother worked on Wall Street. He lived in Connecticut and usually took the train to get to work. That day, a friend offered him a ride, and he got into the city much later than usual. They were able to return home before the chaos ensued.

My father was in Boston, scheduled to fly home that day. All flights were grounded, and it took him about a day to get a bus ticket. It took him two days to get home. He sat next to a family that had walked out of New York City and made their way to Boston. They were going to stay with family until they could return home.

When my uncle returned to work, he said that the city smelled wrong. He said it was like walking through a graveyard, so silent and so wrong.

One year later, I was still in college. We all gathered on the quad for a tribute to the fallen. I went home and wrote a poem.

The 11th of September

As I stand holding hands

With strangers around me,

We cry as one

On this 11^th of September.

We cry for the lives

Lost one year ago.

We cry for the firemen,

Heroes of a nation.

We cry out of gratefulness

For the freedom we hold.

We cry out of thankfulness

That we are American.

We cry out of sorrow

But also out of happiness,

Happiness to be free

And pride to be American.

We cry for the men

Who fought for this freedom,

And those who fled here

For the dream of freedom.

We cry for those

Who cannot enjoy freedom

And dream of their whole lives

About the freedom

We take for granted.

We cry because we have

Taken freedom for granted

And vow that we will never

Do it again.

We cry for every time

We have ever judged someone

Who held different views

Or morals or religion.

We cry for those

Now fighting for freedom,

And hope that someday

They may live that dream.

As I stand holding hands

With strangers around me,

We watch our flag fly half-mast

And listen to our anthem

Play so solemnly.

We lower our heads

In sorrow and happiness.

We cry as the nation

That we are proud to be

The United States of America.

In Memory of the Fallen