A Time To Reflect

Along with countless other Americans today I am reflecting on today's somber anniversary: Seven years since our nation was attacked by radical terrorists in NYC, Washington, DC, and Shanksville, PA. Every year on this day I hope that all Americans take a moment to stop and reflect on its importance, of the lives lost, the fear it sparked in countless citizens, and the mark it has left on not only the USA, but worldwide.

I remember thinking to myself later that week after the attacks that this was the first time my generation had ever experienced anything remotely similar to those who lived through the attack on Pearl Harbor. Never before had I felt as if my nation was under attack, being threatened. I remember how, in a matter of minutes on that day, my country, my state, my city, and even my block, became more cohesive and united than I'd ever known in my 27 years of living. All of a sudden people were buying American flags, American flag bumper stickers and magnets for their cars. It was the greatest exhibit of patriotism I'd ever witnessed. Instead of horns honking and flagrant road rage, people quietly and almost apprehensively traveled the streets of Atlanta, choosing to partake in a much kindler, gentler, and courteous demeanor. Folks actually stopped to hold the door open for each other or to remember to say "thanks" and "I'm sorry." It was as if the most horrific scenario imaginable yet it had actually made us all act in a manner in which we should have been acting all along.

Regardless of how much all of us felt affected by the events of September 11, 2001, it's been so easy for us all to fall back into a pattern of ignorance, selfishness, anger, and greed. I still see a few patriotic bumper stickers and magnets on cars, but not so many American flags. Folks have reverted to their own ways again, ensconced in their cars, yapping on the cell phones, flipping people off who honk at them. Folks once again forget to smile and say "thanks" in the drive-thru of your local fast food restaurants. We still remember September 11, 2001, but we've also forgotten it. We remember the event, where we were, yet we've forgotten what we were like those weeks and months after the tragedy.

I haven't forgotten, though, who I was as an individual. This morning while perusing through the names of victims who worked at Cantor Fitzgerald, I came across a Portuguese name. That's when it struck me how much has changed for me personally in these seven years. You see, even though I had met Nelson and we were a couple during the 9/11 attacks, I had yet to meet his family and begin to embrace the Portuguese culture, so a name ending in -eira would never before have caught my eye. Yet now, today, seven years later, it does, because of how much I have learned about my husband's family, his culture, his languages, etc. In fact, I marvel at how different a person I am now. In these seven years I have changed jobs too many times, been diagnosed with ADHD, began coloring my hair to cover the gray, gained at least 30 pounds, gotten married, survived my first and only Canadian winter, lived in DC, attempted graduate school, traveled to Portugal, owned my first dog, rescued a cat, and grown my first vegetable garden. I've learned a lot about myself, who I used to be, why I was the way I used to be, and who I am now. Seven years ago I was young, single, clueless to a lot of life lessons I was yet to learn. In some ways I look back at that young girl and it feels more like I'm looking at her from the outside instead of from within.

It made me also wonder, how much would all of the victims have changed in seven years? If little ole me has experienced so many ups and downs, trials and tribulations, what would they have experienced? New births, more wrinkles, a promotion, the Grand Canyon, skydiving, weight loss, new hairstyles, additional degrees, a first home, running for public office, climbing Mount Everest, retirement and a timeshare in Myrtle Beach....who knows what else?

I can only hope that each year I will continue to pause and reflect, and not just on me and who I am now, but to reflect on who all of those victims could've continued to become. I must continue to hope as well that one day again our nation can again become more united without requiring the loss of so much life and potential.