9/11, no. 33

Ten years. It's the life span of a prepubescent preteen girl. It's also the exact amount of time that defines a decade. Ten years roughly equates to the period during which certain genres of music, art, and/or ideas epitomize that decade. The past ten years have been a development of feelings and thoughts that allow me to sit here and have feelings that I were not able to have when I was 7 years old on September 11th, 2001.

9/11 was a horrific event that presented the United States with a graphic, extreme portrayal of terrorism, evil, and violence. Thousands lost a friend, acquaintance, idol, family member, role model, etc. I personally did not know anyone killed/injured/affected in the attacks, and although that did not lessen my profound sympathy for those affected, it just made it seem further away.

During the past week and a half, TIME (one of my favorite sources) released multiple videos, stories, and photos by those affected by 9/11. What stood apart in TIME's collection was the diversity in the testimonials - usually, the media focuses on students' perspectives on the attacks (on the day of 9/11, most of us were able to grasp the facts, and now we're growing with them) or children/family members who lost a loved one. TIME included all of these, but they expanded and took a different approach by not simply reflecting on that day and how many are still recovering, but also by sharing with the public the lives of others - flight attendants of planes whose passengers included terrorists with weapons, an employee at the World Trade Center who was at a wedding on that morning (she lost an immense number of her coworkers and friends; she was also in the committee to build a Mosque near ground zero, but was harassed because many chose to ignore the fact that that Mosque was to be a center to propel peace, hope, and other inspirational Islamic traits). There were hundreds of videos of a variety of people - all of whom were in some way deeply impacted by the attacks - and that presentation of diverse perspectives really put me in awe.

In short, for an honest conglomerate of recollections on September 11th, TIME is among the many good sources.

A lot can change or not change in ten years. So many citizens' "9/11 story" didn't end on 9/11. An ardent thank you goes out to all of those who displayed and/or continue to display explicit courage during the past ten years.