Welcome to Remembering Moments in History

I remember sitting in my history classes throughout my school aged years hearing stories about the events my teachers lived through. Modern historical events like the Kennedy assassination, the fall of the Berlin wall, Vietnam, and going back further the Depression and the attack on Pearl Harbor. Young me often wondered how I would have reacted to those events. What would I have done? What would I remember?

Would I have been on the National Mall to see MLK speak?

I've written a bit about my experience of 9/11 and the days that followed on this blog. It was (if not the biggest than one of) a major life event for me. I remember the day vividly. I remember the following week vividly. You can read more about that here.

But 9/11 wasn't the only major event that happed on the national and even international stage to shape my life. And now I can add the events that took place on Wednesday to that ever growing list.

Some days I forget how young I was when 9/11 happened. That teenagers sitting in their history classes are learning about it the same way I learned about the fall of the Berlin wall. Their teachers probably told them where they were or what they were doing when the first plane hit the World Trade Center the same way my history teacher talked about hearing that Kennedy had been shot while sitting in their history class.

A few months ago, I mentioned to my dad how many unprecedented and historic events my generation (the Millennials) had lived through. My dad laughed and said that his generation (the Boomers) had also seen a lot more on top of what we were going through. He then told me how on the day the Vietnam war ended, his father decided to ring the bell at the seminary - which then led to more bells ringing all across the city of Lancaster. That was how my grandfather wanted to acknowledge the end of the war. I almost hope to hear bells ringing once the wars on terror finally end.

The United States has been at war most of my life. Teenagers have never known the United States to not be at war. I forget that fact - often. Have I just grown numb to it?

I think the first big international event that I can remember is when Princess Diana died. I was very young, at an age where memories are more likely to be forgotten than formed. I had no idea who she was, but I knew that mom was very upset that she had died. 

Two years later, the Columbine high school massacre occurred. My main memory from that event is my teacher bowing her head to pray, tears in her eyes.

Right after 9/11 was the DC sniper in 2002. By this point in my life I still believed that adults had all the answers and would protect us kids. As time went on and more people died, I lost that faith. When teachers and school administrators tell your friends walking between their outdoor classrooms to "use the buddy system" so as to not be killed by a sniper, it becomes obvious that adults have no idea what they're doing.

At some point in the early 2000s (also after 9/11), I remember being worried for my cousin in the military going to war. I didn't want him to be deployed into an active combat zone, especially after all the war movies I'd grown up watching on World War 2. My cousin was deployed. Other members of my family have been deployed. One of my distant cousins died - it was suspected to have been by friendly fire.

The Virginia Tech massacre happened just before my birthday. Three days later a bomb threat was called into my school. Tension was high.

My friends and developed a thick skin to tragedy and often joked our own mortality. We learned early that bad things happen and there's nothing anyone will do about it.

I cried my eyes out when I saw the news on Sandy Hook. I had just gotten back from studying from my finals. My roommate and I talked about it for a bit. Sharing stories on what the kids had gone through, what they had survived.

Wednesday's insurrection was historical. If I had been asked as a teenager in high school whether or not something like that could happen in the United States, I'd have laughed and firmly said no. I've grown up a lot since then. I've learned more and come to understand things in different ways.

A lot of people saw this coming. A lot of people tried to warn others that this was likely to happen.

On Wednesday during the insurrection, I took my dad to a doctor's appointment. While I sat in the waiting area, I scrolled through Twitter - getting updates live. I was stunned, but sadly not surprised. I let the people in the office know what was going on in real time. Dad and I watched the live coverage once we got home. It was so much worse than seeing the BLM protestors getting gassed so the President could hold a Bible upside down in front of St. Johns Church. 

I know where I was and what I was doing on Wednesday.

I probably won't ever forget it. And neither will most Americans.

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Until next week.

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Welcome to Rememberance

September 11th 2001 started out as an ordinary day for me, but it didn't end that way. It's been 15 years since the attack. Over 2000 people lost there lives that day. Many of the first respondents have gotten sick and passed away because of the toxic dust and ash that entered the atmosphere.

Many people on social media sites have been posting about where they were or what they were doing when they either heard about or saw the live footage of the attacks. I remember being at school and having no idea what was going on. Which in all honest, was probably a good decision for the school to make.

My friends and I could guess that something was happening. Our teachers were on edge and there were a lot of early dismissals. We started with a class full of students and ended the day with maybe a third or a fourth still present. I am 100% sure that if someone had told me while at school what was going on, I would not have taken it well.

I didn't go home that day. Instead my mom had me go home with a friend. This friend's dad worked in the Pentagon and their family hadn't been able to get a hold of him all day. Thankfully they eventually did hear from him. Many families weren't as lucky.

There are a lot of things that I remember that happened in the days right after 9/11. I remember we didn't have school for a few days and that phone reception (both land line and cell phone) was unreliable. My mom, sister, and I stayed with my friend's family until classes started again. The news was constantly showing footage of the crash sites and missing people. Even though our parents tried to shield us from it, we caught glimpses of the news anyway.

It was scary, confusing, and difficult to process. I remember feeling a lot of confusing emotions and taking a lot of time to understand what had happened.

In the days after the attack, I went with my girl scout troupe to a hotel near the Pentagon to give out water and food to the families who were there. The hotel was the headquarters for the victims and families. When we arrived, my friends and I were swarmed by foreign press asking us tons of questions. It was very intimidating. Later we were thanked by the admiral (or general? I don't exactly remember their title, but they were very important) who was in charge. He was notifying and consoling the victims families. It felt good to help out, even a little bit.

As time went on, more and more security measures were put in place. Airports had a lot more metal detectors and restrictions. There were a lot more security personal in Washington DC. Places where I used to be able to just walk right in, suddenly had guards and metal detectors everywhere. I was a lot more aware of my surroundings.

September 11th 2001 was a major turning point in my life. I still remember a time when things were a bit more laid back (for lack of a better term). A lot of sudden changes happened and I was faced with emotions I had never experienced before.

There are many days were I wonder what our world would have been like if the terrorist attack had never happened. There are other days where I wonder what it would have been like if I had been older in 2001. Then there are the days where I wonder if something like that will happen again?

9/11 had a major impact on my life and I don't think I'll ever be able to forget.

Thank you for reading.