#Neverforget
September eleventh two thousand one
It's hard to believe what occurred on the streets of New York City back in 2001. Fear, panic, and the feeling of unknown traveled throughout the world as people frantically searched for answers. I honestly can't imagine.
I remember being in class my sophomore year of high school as word quickly made way through the classrooms as we then watched the horror unfold on the giant tube TV's hung in our classrooms.
Today is certainly a different world we live in then it was decades ago, and as we could debate if it has changed for the better or worse, I think we could all agree that the world could use a little, or really a lot more, love, understanding, and respect. We need to realize that no matter where you were born, no matter what you believe in, no matter the color of skin, political views, religious beliefs, we are all humans with a limited time on this earth.
When I was in New York with some good friends of mine, we had the opportunity to visit not only the 911 Memorial Museum, but also see the Broadway show Come From Away. Both were extremely powerful, emotionally moving and really put into perspective the reality of the situation.
If you're not familiar with the Broadway show Come From Away, it is the story of the passengers on the planes that were supposed to land in New York that day, but instead got diverted to a small town called Gander in Newfoundland. The show itself was extraordinarily uplifting and motivating with talent beyond words. If you have a moment, you should take a peek at their site which has more information about the story!
Seeing this show really complimented the experience of the 911 Museum. I didn't know what to expect from the show or the museum, but i'm glad I was able to do both.
When we arrived at the 911 Memorial it had an eerie emotional aura with everyone around. The moment you step foot through the doors you could hear a pin drop. Not sure if my senses were heightened due to nature of the place, but the first thing that I noticed was the smell. It was as if I could still smell the scent of smoldering fire among the wreckage throughout the walls. It was powerful to say the least. As we continued to explore it felt like time had stopped. So many pictures, artifacts, and little bits of information that separately told stories within themselves, while at the same time put pieces of the bigger puzzle together. The pictures you'll see below won't due justice of this terrible tragedy.
As I reflect looking back through these pictures, I can't help but believe we as a world can do better. We are people from so many different cultures that we should be able to learn from one another, yet it seems as though history always repeats itself and something bad happens.
I want to give countless prayers to all the families, people, friends, who sacrificed their lives and loved ones on that day and have to continue to live on with their losses, and give thanks and gratitude to those who provided countless hours and months of help throughout that whole time. I'm sure there are so many unsung hero's to spread love to.
So as we all continue to live our lives on this same beautiful planet, just be kind, express love, and celebrate happiness for yourself and others. I think we get too caught up in our busy lives that we sometimes think we have it so bad, when in reality there's probably someone else in this world that has it worse.
Be humble, never take what you have for granted, and be kind to the people who cross paths in this adventure called life. You never know what tomorrow will bring.
