Twenty Years

20 years. 

Like many, I remember every moment of that day.

I came out of my early morning class to a sense of commotion. I ran into my friend on the street on campus and she told me that America was under attack. I was in shock. 

We walked together to the student center where they had TVs set up and we all stood in silence, eyes glued to the screens as we watched the towers fall.

I wouldn’t move to NYC until a year later but I traveled back & forth regularly. 

I’ll never forget that first drive to NYC after the towers fell staring at the hole in the once familiar skyline with a lump in my throat. 

So much has happened in 20 years. So much of how we live, how we travel, and how we think has changed.

And so much hasn’t. 

One of the things that will always stick with me about that day is how we all came together to support and help each other. The stories of all the heroes that continue to emerge. And all of the heroic stories that we’ll never even know about. 

20 years makes you really reflect.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what this country stands for. I believe in the ideals and values of America- of equality and liberation for all.

And I believe that we still have a lot of work to do to realize those ideals.

I believe that to realize those ideals we must never respond to hate with more hate.

I’ve been thinking about Afghanistan, and attacks on human rights and freedom. I’ve been thinking about Texas and attacks on women’s rights and healthcare. I’ve been thinking about the pandemic and how it felt like we were united for a moment, and then quickly turned into another thing to fight over. I’ve been thinking about racism, antisemitism and all of the hate and division we’re facing. 

It’s easy to think of all of that and feel hopeless. It’s easy to say we’ve lost our way.

But when I think of that, I then remember the heroes. I then think of that feeling of unity and kinship in those first days after 9/11.

That’s what we all need to continue to work towards and why what we do today matters. 

I believe we all have the ability to realize our ideals… if only we’re willing to look inwards so we can shine outwards.

Never Forget.