Despite My Frustration, I’ve Learned A Valuable Lesson

Report from: September 10, 2011

Aerial view of the 9/11 Memorial in New York.

For those of you who can remember, I envy you. For those of you who can’t, you’re not alone. Today, I sit here, watching a “Dateline NBC” special that memorializes 9/11, and I realize that, regrettably, I don’t remember a thing. I’m told that at the time of the attack, I was just a typical kindergartener who didn’t have a care in the world. But I’m kicking myself because I have connections to the tragedy, and I can’t remember a single thing regarding 9/11 before second grade, and that is very upsetting.

My uncle was working in his office only a block away from the Twin Towers when the attack happened. He had to run out of his office and was stuck in the city for most of the day. It took a kind woman to let him into her home so that he could wash the thick layer of ashes and soot off himself. And while all of this happened, I was having a play date with my little kindergarten friends, completely unaware that my uncle, my godfather, one of my biggest role models, was that close to losing his life.

People say they wish they could just forget their scary memories of September 11. I say don’t be so fast to say that. I am certainly not happy that this happened. Devastated would be a more apt description. When people talk about it, I feel a genuine sadness for them. I feel like it is my duty as a patriotic American to feel the pain that all those who can remember the event have felt.

These feelings of sorrow and regret have helped me realize something. As John F. Kennedy famously said, “And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” To put things into perspective for you, I am usually the last one to buy into presidential propaganda about being patriotic. Although I believe that loving your country is very important, I also think that patriotism, like religion, is something that comes from within, not something you are convinced to do. However, this speech in particular spoke to me. At a time like 9/11, we need to come together as a country, because, as JFK also said, “United, there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided, there is little we can do – for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.”

I have come to realize that you don’t need memories of 9/11, as they don’t define how we should feel and act. For both those who remember and those who don’t, the event itself is what has unified us as a country.