It was the first week of my senior year in a brand new high school. I was sitting in French class, Monsieur at the front of class. The lesson that day was about food, we were actually sitting in the back of the Spanish classroom in the kitchen. All of a sudden, there is an announcement form the principal. This is bizarre, we rarely hear from him.
It was September 11, 2001 and he was announcing the first of the two planes to hit the World Trade Center towers. I honestly didn't quite know what to make of it. It didn't really impact me personally because I didn't know anyone in New York, Washington DC, Pennsylvania or on the flights, but at the same time it was deeply troubling. Since this was the first year in the new high school, there were still kinks being worked out - including the televisions. So I didn't see any video or images until fifth period calculus when my teacher and another student jury rigged an antennae from a metal desk and a wire. That's when it started to sink in - the destruction and chaos that was happening in New York City.
I have been to New York several times since the attacks and each time I have visited Ground Zero. During each trip I have visited Ground Zero, watching the memorial being built and the new towers rising up into the skyline. This last trip the first part of the memorial was opened to the public. It is really amazing how powerful and peaceful the memorial is. The reflecting pools sitting in the footprint of the original towers are impressive. Not only for the size and sound, but to see the thousands of names around the pools. I believe it truly shows the diversity of America - each name next to another regardless of ethnicity, gender, or beliefs; each person with their own story.
I can't wait to see the museum when it is completed. I'm sure it will be a difficult journey through the halls - looking at photos and artifacts, watching video, hearing the sounds of the horrific day, but I still feel that it is important to visit at least once. From what I have read, the 9/11 Memorial Museum is being built in a similar style to the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. (perhaps the most powerful museum I have visited thus far).
It was September 11, 2001 and he was announcing the first of the two planes to hit the World Trade Center towers. I honestly didn't quite know what to make of it. It didn't really impact me personally because I didn't know anyone in New York, Washington DC, Pennsylvania or on the flights, but at the same time it was deeply troubling. Since this was the first year in the new high school, there were still kinks being worked out - including the televisions. So I didn't see any video or images until fifth period calculus when my teacher and another student jury rigged an antennae from a metal desk and a wire. That's when it started to sink in - the destruction and chaos that was happening in New York City.
I have been to New York several times since the attacks and each time I have visited Ground Zero. During each trip I have visited Ground Zero, watching the memorial being built and the new towers rising up into the skyline. This last trip the first part of the memorial was opened to the public. It is really amazing how powerful and peaceful the memorial is. The reflecting pools sitting in the footprint of the original towers are impressive. Not only for the size and sound, but to see the thousands of names around the pools. I believe it truly shows the diversity of America - each name next to another regardless of ethnicity, gender, or beliefs; each person with their own story.
I can't wait to see the museum when it is completed. I'm sure it will be a difficult journey through the halls - looking at photos and artifacts, watching video, hearing the sounds of the horrific day, but I still feel that it is important to visit at least once. From what I have read, the 9/11 Memorial Museum is being built in a similar style to the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. (perhaps the most powerful museum I have visited thus far).
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| All photos taken by me except the center photo |
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