I'll Never Forget

10 years ago I was sitting in my 8th grade Algebra class.  It started just like any other day, but when a teacher rushed in to tell us to turn on the news... everything changed.  I remember seeing the burnings buildings, listening to the news reporters, but wondering what was really going on.  I hadn't been to NYC by that time and wasn't really sure of the importance of those buildings.  Everyone was in shock.  We all sat in silence.  No one knew really what was going on or what to say.  I went home that evening to my family and my mom explained everything a little more.  I remember going to church that night for a special prayer service.  So many people came to just pray for our country, for those who lost lives, and for the upcoming events that would follow this tragedy.  I think about everything our country has been through since that terrible day and how far we've come.   I may not have lost family members that day, I may not have been there to experience everything with my own eyes, but I have a connection to 9/11 because I have lived through the aftermath of it.  Today is a day of rememberance... to remind us to be grateful for our loves ones, to remind us we aren't guaranteed tomorrow, and to be thankful we live in such a wonderful country.  Most of my students have never heard of 9/11 and they all were not even alive then.  However, it is something that I will never forget.