Remembering 9/11

So, this morning, I log into Twitter because I'm bored and waiting for a phone call. I decide to look at the #Remember911 tag and was really angry with the first thing I saw.

First off, today is the anniversary of 9/11, a horrifying event where around 3,000 people died.

We are supposed to be honoring their memory. We are supposed to be remembering them.

So, why was the first post I saw blaming Trump for 9/11? Or making stupid-claims about it?

Let me make one thing clear: this isn't a political post. And I'm not defending President Trump.

I'm defending today.

Because the things I saw this morning was ridiculous. Do NOT take a tragedy and twist it for your political agenda. It isn't okay. Yes, there are certain things that you should be politically involved with and I understand that (Breonna Taylor, Vanessa Guillen, etc.). Yes, make a big deal of those things so that they get properly addressed. That, I agree with.

But this happened. And you can't change that this happened. And you can't change that something like 9/11 has the potential to happen again because of the type of event it was. I'm not saying that to scare people, it's just the truth.

Terrorists attacks are intentionally unexpected and surprising. They are planned to hurt people and to hurt a nation. And it's sad to think that something like it could happen again, but it could.

Every time I think of 9/11, my soul stops for a minute. It's a weird feeling to describe. My entire body and mind just freeze for a moment. I watch memorials every year. Or I try to. And, it's... It's a lot. It's a lot of people.

I can't imagine the level of fear there. The level of pain, and sorrow, and hurt.

And, honestly, it makes me pause.

Because, it makes me think.

That could have been me.

Think about it.

It could have been anyone of us.

Everyone seems to think, and I'm not sure if people actually realize they do this, but they think, "Oh, that could never happen to me."

I thought the same thing.

I've known people who've thought the same thing.

And then, something happens. And then, a piece of you changes with the thing you didn't expect. You hurt and you ache and you burn, because this wasn't supposed to happen to you.

I'm sure that feeling sounds familiar to a lot of you.

To those of you it doesn't, let me reassure you that it is not a fun feeling.

It's hard, to see that change.

And I was fortunate enough to be too young to remember the attack on 9/11. My entire generation typically is. But, that doesn't mean it didn't have lasting effects on the country we're in. That doesn't mean it didn't devastate our country as well as others. We had to put in so many new policies, we had to care about things we didn't before.

And... that's really hard.

I'm not saying all of these things to scare people. I'm not.

I'm saying this because it's a much needed reality check, for me and for others.

We're not supposed to make this day all about us.

We're supposed to make today about the people who lost their lives. We're supposed to honor them.

So, let's do that by living our best lives. By taking a moment of solitude to sit with ourselves and think about the best way to honor those who saved others. To honor heroes.

My challenge to you today is this: Do one kind thing for someone. Look at someone and think, "How would I treat them if I knew they were going to die tomorrow? Would it be different than how I'm treating them now?"

And maybe, take some time to sit with that thought and really ponder it.

But, don't make this day about politics. Don't dishonor our heroes like that.

Leave politics alone. For one day. They'll be waiting for you first thing tomorrow morning, I promise.