Nine years ago today, I was a senior in high school. On my way to my first class, I stopped at the credit union to make a deposit. While waiting in the drive-through I heard something about a plane crashing into the World Trade Center in NYC. At first it didn’t phase me. During my first period, people came in talking about it and we turned on the TV instead of having class. That’s when we finally realized the magnitude of devastation. At that point we also watched as the second plane plowed into the other tower. Second period, we did business as usual because our teacher was from New York and used to teach there. She didn’t want to talk about what may have happened to her former colleagues and friends. The rest of the day we watched the news or listened to the radio. The school district told us we couldn’t leave the building during the day even though there was no threat in Dallas.
Last summer during my internship in NYC, I visited Ground Zero a few times. One of those times I visited the small church next door, which is more like a memorial museum to 9/11/01 than a church now. This is something I will never forget. I will never forget that September morning in 2001. However, I will not let what happened build hatred or fear inside of me. I know that not all Muslims or Islamic believers are responsible for the attacks. I will trust in God and pray for the families of the victims of 9/11/01.
Here are some pics of my time in NYC around Ground Zero and a video of how some people’s faith was strengthened after the attacks.
