We Remember.

I'm sure you'll see a lot of the stars and stripes today - but this might be the only Larkin card you see with the stars and stripes today!

It seems that most generations of Americans have some sort of event that defines them.  There are negative things like the Attack on Pearl Harbor and the Cold War and there are positive things like the first man on the moon...but regardless of good or bad, there are moments that define us (whether we want them to or not).

For my generation, 9/11 is one such moment.  I don't usually get political or overly personal on my blog (which is more a reflection of me as a person rather than some sort of self-censorship), but some things deserve a comment or reflection.

Where were you when you heard the news of 9/11?

That's a common question today - one that I'm sure many different news organizations will run with, often with their own political slant.  However, I can dispense of the politics and simply talk about where I was.

I was in bed.  In a freshman dorm at my college (don't worry - it was my bed in my dorm, I was a freshman in fall of 2001).  I had had a 7:45 AM PreCalculus lab that morning, and had somehow managed to get through the lab and stumble back to my room and had hopped back in bed.  It was a matter of maybe five minutes or so before someone knocked on my dorm door and told me to turn on the news.  For the next two, three, four, I really have no idea, hours, much of my freshman dorm was crowded into a few rooms watching the television as one.  We were all united in shock and disbelief - and all of us were worried about those in the room who had loved ones in New York City at the time.  For all the talk of terrorism dividing people and causing unrest, for those few hours, the terrorists only succeeded in turning a bunch of new freshman randomly assigned a dorm room into a cohesive group who suddenly had a new outlook on life.  That lab I had dreaded earlier that morning?  It didn't seem so bad now.  That kid down the hall who was kind of weird and completely annoying?  Well, he probably could use a friend too.  And so on.

9/11 caused a lot of emotions in a lot of people.  The act of terror caused unspeakable deaths and destruction, along with plenty of other problems (many of which still exist today).  However, 9/11 caused a few other things too.  It caused a country to a pause and reflect.  It caused a bunch of college kids to come together as one and realize exactly how precious life could be.  And, dare I say, for awhile, it caused our country to be stronger in resolve than probably any time since World War II (or maybe even World War I).

I am positive that there will be better writers on some of the blogs in my blog roll who will have a much more eloquent tale for today.  But honestly, it's not about eloquence today.  It's about remembering.  Remembering what you felt that day - especially the fragility of life.   It's an apt reminder, quite honestly, especially in a year in which my region has seen terrible blizzards, tornadoes, hurricanes, and torrential rains with widespread flooding.  So please, remember those who died in the tragedy.  Remember those who died trying to save others.  And remember those who played a role in helping the survivors return to a normal life.  But also remember your own life.  Remember what you were doing, remember those around you.  And, if you can, remember the first few people you knew you needed to talk to just to convince yourself that they were ok.  Sometimes it's the rawest emotions that can teach us exactly what's important in life.  And that is something we all need to remember.