Never Forget/Grow Up, America
Today marks the 14th anniversary of the most terrifying day the USA has ever seen. Today is known as 9/11, the day two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center, also known as the "Twin Towers." These magnificent buildings, filled with employees, went up in smoke and came tumbling to the ground on that fateful morning back in 2001. As a result, over 2,000 people lost their lives that day, and even more have suffered from medical problems just from trying to rummage through the wreckages looking for survivors.
I remember that day very vividly. I was seven years old and was sitting in my second grade classroom just playing around with my friends, when a teacher came in and pulled ours out into the hallway. I remember she looked scared but we didn't know why. They let us all out early that day but did not tell us what had happened. The next day, we sat down and talked about it in class and I was the only one who did not know anything about it because my parents wouldn't tell me. They did not want to scare me, and I came home crying because I was left out. Our teacher said that two important buildings fell because planes crashed into them and that someone was trying to hurt our country. To a seven year old, who has no idea what is going on, that is a pretty scary statement. So I came home and begged my mom to let me watch the news. I told her how we had talked about it and she was so angry at my school, as well as many other parents were.
We sat down in the living room and turned on the TV. I didn't completely grasp what was happening, but when they showed the towers fall, I was incredibly scared. I looked at my mom and asked, "Are there people in those buildings?" and she looked down at me and said, "Yes honey, there are." In that moment I just cried. I knew what had happened to them. At such a young age, my view was shattered of the world being this Utopia. I asked her why someone would want to hurt us, and she did not have an answer. I will never forget that day as long as I live.
We recently went to visit the 9/11 memorial in NYC, and it was absolutely beautiful. The workers did an amazing job and I could not stop myself from crying. Seeing all of those names made my heart ache, and my love goes out to the families of all of those victims. What broke my heart, though, was the amount of people who were standing and laughing and taking selfies. They all so easily forget. I was angry to see that; that is a sacred place where people come to pay their respects. Those are real people, not just made up names. No one has respect for anything anymore and it breaks my heart.
Our nation is falling apart. That day, that horrible day 14 years ago, this nation stood as one. We were Americans, together. Brothers and sisters. Now look at us. We all get offended by the smallest things; we have separated ourselves from one another because of our opinions. We are so fragile and there is no reason why we should be.
We should stand together once again. Put aside our differences and our pettiness. Put aside our opinions, our bad behaviors, our disrespect. Stop fighting amongst ourselves and start protecting our country as a unit from those who want to hurt us. Stop bringing race and beliefs and judgements into every single issue that we have. Just stop, America. Stop!
I am not always proud of my country's decisions, but I do love the USA. It is my home. It is where my family and friends live. It is where every memory has taken place. So grow up, America. Remember that fateful day 14 years ago. Remember the victims and their families. And stand together as one again. This is a beautiful country, so start taking care of it.
I remember that day very vividly. I was seven years old and was sitting in my second grade classroom just playing around with my friends, when a teacher came in and pulled ours out into the hallway. I remember she looked scared but we didn't know why. They let us all out early that day but did not tell us what had happened. The next day, we sat down and talked about it in class and I was the only one who did not know anything about it because my parents wouldn't tell me. They did not want to scare me, and I came home crying because I was left out. Our teacher said that two important buildings fell because planes crashed into them and that someone was trying to hurt our country. To a seven year old, who has no idea what is going on, that is a pretty scary statement. So I came home and begged my mom to let me watch the news. I told her how we had talked about it and she was so angry at my school, as well as many other parents were.
We sat down in the living room and turned on the TV. I didn't completely grasp what was happening, but when they showed the towers fall, I was incredibly scared. I looked at my mom and asked, "Are there people in those buildings?" and she looked down at me and said, "Yes honey, there are." In that moment I just cried. I knew what had happened to them. At such a young age, my view was shattered of the world being this Utopia. I asked her why someone would want to hurt us, and she did not have an answer. I will never forget that day as long as I live.
We recently went to visit the 9/11 memorial in NYC, and it was absolutely beautiful. The workers did an amazing job and I could not stop myself from crying. Seeing all of those names made my heart ache, and my love goes out to the families of all of those victims. What broke my heart, though, was the amount of people who were standing and laughing and taking selfies. They all so easily forget. I was angry to see that; that is a sacred place where people come to pay their respects. Those are real people, not just made up names. No one has respect for anything anymore and it breaks my heart.
Our nation is falling apart. That day, that horrible day 14 years ago, this nation stood as one. We were Americans, together. Brothers and sisters. Now look at us. We all get offended by the smallest things; we have separated ourselves from one another because of our opinions. We are so fragile and there is no reason why we should be.
We should stand together once again. Put aside our differences and our pettiness. Put aside our opinions, our bad behaviors, our disrespect. Stop fighting amongst ourselves and start protecting our country as a unit from those who want to hurt us. Stop bringing race and beliefs and judgements into every single issue that we have. Just stop, America. Stop!
I am not always proud of my country's decisions, but I do love the USA. It is my home. It is where my family and friends live. It is where every memory has taken place. So grow up, America. Remember that fateful day 14 years ago. Remember the victims and their families. And stand together as one again. This is a beautiful country, so start taking care of it.
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