September 11, 2001

It seems like just yesterday that I was sitting in my 8th grade English class at Brogden when I found out about the attacks on the World Trade Centers. During lunch I kept hearing that people were going home because the world was coming to an end or something like that but I didn't think anything of it. I just thought some people were scared since our school had its second bomb threat in a week that day. Weird that we had a bomb threat on the same day as the worst attack on American soil happened. I can still remember my teacher telling us what had happened and none of it really sank in with me. It didn't really hit home until I got home and started watching the news with my mom and brother. I was almost sick to stomach. I couldn't believe that there were people out there sick enough to do this. Even though that was a horrible day, I believe that it showed the best of America. There were men and women risking their lives for complete strangers. Some of which paid the ultimate price with their lives. Americans were united that day. We put aside our differences and stood tall. We showed the rest of the world how resilient we can be and that we will not let other people's hatred for us bring us down. Why can't we always be like that? It seems so ironic to call this place the United States of America now because we are so divided. And the leaders and especially the future leaders (cough cough presidential nominees) are not helping. All of this mud slinging is really making me sick. I wish they spent more time putting action behind their words rather than writing jokes about the other person to get laughs at their respective National Conventions. Grow up. We are better than that and I expect better from people who are trying to become the President of this country. But enough about politics. Remember what happened seven years ago and how triumphant this country came out of that situation. Thank you to all who risked their lives that day for other people. Thank you to all of those who are still serving this country and risk their lives everyday for people you don't know. We should all learn a lesson from these people and put others before ourselves. Just like Jesus said, if you want to be first you have to be last and if you want to be great you must become a servant.