The previous summer I was fortunate enough to travel to New York City for the first time, and I made it a priority to visit the 9/11 memorial. It was as surreal as I anticipated: I was standing on the same plot of land the World Trace Center twin towers stood on that fateful day as I watched it crumbled down into ashes on television. I’ve only started 7th grade.
The memorial itself is incredibly somber yet astonishingly beautiful. Those two vast disappearing pools of water representing the innocence lost that day, alongside it the new One World Trade Center, the gleaming tower of strength and American resolve. It is a hallowed ground that lures you into deep thought and reflection of that calamitous event, and the sacrifices of those that came immediate and long after September 11, 2011.
I was lost in a mixture of pure sadness and infinite gratitude.
I hope everyone gets a chance to visit the memorial to pay their respects. For me, it was an honor and privilege.