Friday, September 16, 2011

Now

It was my first time in Manhattan. The top two pictures were taken last month.

It's hard to explain why seeing the Freedom Tower filled me with such hope. As I looked up at the skyline of buildings, I saw what people were able to build out of devastation.

If you didn't know the horror that had happened only ten years previously, you would have never guessed it standing on the sidewalk and looking up at this tall building that defies the crushing events of 9/11. Defies, or defines.

We don't give up. It's an American trait.

The picture below shows what the Freedom tower will look like after completion. If you look at how it compares with the building next to it, the whole things comes into perspective. That's not exactly a short skyscraper standing beside it.

I have to be honest, I stood there looking at the Freedom Tower and couldn't even imagine it being twice again as tall as it already was. Amazing.

I didn't know anyone that lost their life that day. And yet, I can say with all sincerity of my heart that the event affected me deeply. We're all one nation, under God, indivisible. And when a piece is torn from our land, we all feel it. We all cry. We all mourn the loss of lives and find a deep respect for those heroes who stepped up to do what they could- heroes who are still stepping up to the call.

But out of the ashes, I see a nation who's hope is brighter than the darkness. A nation that is willing to fight against evil. And I know that it's a world I can send my children into. A nation that has enough good to keep believing.

2 comments:

LouMac said...

We were talking about this in my Geography class the other day. It's amazing what we can do as we rise from the ashes. With each event, we just get stronger...

I was in kindergarten when 9/11 struck. My parents knew a family that were on flight 93. I was too young to understand what had happened, but it did affect me. It still does and it affects everyone here. I think that's why we've been so successful in recovering from this! Everyone pulled together and shared each other's sympathy.

Laura said...

LouMac-it's amazing the kind of world we live in- both the good and the bad. But the good is simply inspiring.