9/11- Echoes of Tragedy

Today is September 11, and it brings back a flood of memories for me. I remember it vividly: sitting at home with my roommate as we watched the TV and saw the first tower on fire, not fully grasping what was happening. I remember catching the bus to work, teaching first and second graders, and then sitting in the teachers’ lounge as the news came that the second tower had been hit. That was the moment we realized just how grave things were.

We all know the events of 9/11 now, but what stands out in my memory is the bus ride home that evening. It was so eerily quiet—just this heavy silence that seemed to hang over everything.

Now here we are in 2025, more than 24 years later. And I realize some of my coworkers were just kids then or maybe don’t remember it at all. The further we get from a tragedy, the more our perspective on it changes. I think about how generations before me talked about the Kennedy assassination or Pearl Harbor—events that were defining for them but were just history for me.

It makes me reflect on how we handle tragedy now. We go through our cycles of mourning, and sometimes we jump straight to debating politics or writing blog posts. But I’m reminded of that verse: rejoice with those who rejoice, and mourn with those who mourn. Sometimes, in the face of these big historical wounds, maybe the most responsible thing we can do is to just sit with that grief a little longer.

I don’t have the answers, just more questions. But I think it’s okay to honor that space of reflection.

Question for readers: How do you think our collective memory of tragedies changes over time, and how can we best honor the experiences of those who lived through them firsthand?