Remember September 11th

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I still remember back in 1st grade, that day I woke up ready for school, same as always. I remember walking downstairs and eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at the kitchen table. I remember my mom turning on the TV and flipping to the news in the few minutes I had before leaving for school. I remember seeing the smoke. I remember the cries and the flames licking up the World Trade Center. I remember the pain.

That day was one of the most serious days I've had at school. Hushed voices whispered through the halls, and all of the teachers had solemn countenances. We children knew nothing of what happened, all we knew was, "Did you see the burning building on the TV?" and "My parents were really upset..."

We all had the question, "What happened?" We didn't know that America had just been the target of a terrorist attack. We didn't know that this event would be remembered for the rest of history. We didn't know the lives that would be lost. We didn't know.

And even more importantly, we didn't know why. Teachers, not wanting to inform us of the severity of the event, and knowing that our 6 year-old brains wouldn't understand the gravity, just told us that sometimes bad people do bad things. At the time, we didn't know how bad it really was. But now we do.

And now that we do, we need to keep it in our minds. We need to remember. Remember the Twin Towers crashing to the ground. Remember the lives that were lost. Remember the sobs of those who lost a loved one. Remember the tears. Remember the pain.

We need to remember 9/11.