Anniversary

by Crystal Coons
Sep 10, 2003

It will be two years ago tomorrow. I remember the day so clearly like it was yesterday. The sheer intensity of the event, however, makes it seem like it was from another generation. I woke up to the sound of the alarm clock, 6:45 am, MST. The news was being broadcast, and they mentioned a horrible accident had happened. Just as my husband was about to hit snooze, I stopped him, listened further, and jumped out of bed and turned on the TV. The reality was there. The towers were falling. It was utter devastation.

I grew up hearing stories of war, hearing about Pearl Harbor, or, in Canada's case, the poem entitled "Flander's Field" which remembers those who gave their lives during the wars. But none of it really hit me. I was 15, in history class, bored with numbers and stories of the past. Never had I realized that one day, I would know what it felt like to be alive during an event of such magnitude. It even saddens me to think that one day, to our kids and grandkids, September 11, 2001 will be nothing more to them than a chapter in a textbook. But we will remember.

Tomorrow, services will be held all over the country to remember the more than 3000 people who lost their lives due to the terrorist attacks. Being in Arizona

Arizona	(air-i'-ZON-u')
The State of Arizona comprises the extreme south-western portion of the United States. It is bounded on the north by Utah, on the east by New Mexico, on the south by Mexico, and on the west by California and Nevada.

, the events didn't hit as hard as they had everywhere else, but it made me more aware of how lucky I was to be where I was, and to be with the people I was with.

It shocked me to see the video being played over and over again, and the fact that all of this was happening 3000 miles away suddenly didn't seem to matter. It was like it was in my own backyard. And now, on this two-year anniversary, it only seems fitting to remember it by remembering it, and doing something to improve the world we live in. Putting aside all pettiness and grudges and realizing that in the end, all we have is each other, and that closeness is what will keep us alive.