sunday (remembering)

"it is not always the events we have been directly involved in that affect us the most.” 

-francois mauriac, forward of elie wiesel's night

september 11, 2011 was my first day of college classes as a freshman.  i had an early morning start to the day with an 8am class.  i didn't hear about what had happened until my second class of the morning, french, a couple hours later.  i overheard someone state what had happened, but i don't think that it even resonated with me.  i had no frame of reference, really, of how tragic of an event could take place and what it could mean.  i was pretty naive ten years ago.  

i've immersed myself in varying degrees of 9/11 remembrance in the past decade, but i think today is when it hit me the hardest as i watched news broadcasts on tv this morning with tears streaming down my face.  i have no personal connection to the state of new york and i feel thankful that i didn't know anyone who was directly affected, but i can still imagine the heartache and grief those continue to feel.

i think it's important that we share our stories.  i think it's important that we remember where we were, what we were doing, and how we were feeling.  i think it's important that we think & act more globally, especially on days like this.  so, let's ask questions.  tell people how we feel.  tell people that we love them and not be afraid of the response we may get.  let's spread love.  spread goodness.  let's be strong and have faith.  don't live life sitting down.  get up and do something.  don't be afraid.  don't be complacent.  don't miss opportunities.  regrets are worthless.  most of all, be happy.  i don't think we ought to put a halt to that which brings us joy on this day so that we don't let ourselves feel any happiness.  there can definitely be beauty found in today.