11 years ago today, I was packed up, on the bus to my elementary school as a sixth grader. I stepped off the bus and went to wait outside for the bell to ring and my teacher to let us in. Along came a Jason Bemis and Travis Johnson. "A plane is going to come and crash into our school!" At first I just ignored them. They were always saying wild, off the wall things. Although this one was especially wild. Why would anyone crash a plane into a building?
The bell rang and my teacher let is all into our classroom. At lunch time, the curtains to the library were closed and students from the outside were gathered around the window trying to peek around the curtains to see. I asked another student what was going on. They said that the librarians were watching a video, but wouldn't let us see. I shrugged my shoulders and went off to play.
It wasn't until I got home and saw my mom watching tv that I finally figured it out.
"Someone has crashed two planes into the twin towers in New York." My mom told me.
"Why would someone do that?" Mom shook her head.
"There are some people in this world who don't like America, Susan."
A year ago today, I was in a first grade elementary school class trying to explain to my students what the significance of this day was. Trying to teach them a piece of history that I lived, that they knew nothing about. As I tried to impress the importance of this day on them, it occurred to me that through that hardship, our country continued on. We remained strong, and we will continue on as long as those students, those beautiful children that I was teaching continued to believe in freedom and to fight for their right to it.
Today, I sit here on my couch in my home writing about my past freely. I think about that horrible day and the lives lost from that terrible tragedy and I am all the more grateful that I live in this free country with good people who are willing to pay the price for my freedom. What a blessing it is to live here at this time. I know that I am proud to be an American. Are you?
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