Today

"She had the choice to sulk in the disaster or find beauty even from the ashes."  S.S. Jubilee

Today marks a day in history that I just learned, all incoming high school freshmen will be learning as an historical event they were not alive for.  Each year that rolls around there is no one on the planet, especially in America, that does not remember the events that took place 15 years ago today.

I will never know the true feeling of what September 11, 2001 had on all of those that were directly impacted by it, because I was not there.  I did not lose anyone in those tragedies.  I was safe inside a classroom during the first month of my freshmen year of high school.  There were kids in my class that were though.  They had family members or loved ones that were in New York City that day and the faces of all those who were in the same boat, were obvious amongst the crowded hallways.

There are people I know now, people I care about immensely who lived through that day and came out of it alive.  Their stories are heartbreaking and powerful, uplifting and sad, but they are the only ones who truly know what it felt like to be there in the chaos and fear of that day, because they were.

In 15 years our country has changed.  Has it changed for the better?  I honestly don't know.  It always makes me devastated to be reminded to never forget this day in history because how could I?  How could anyone for that matter, ever forget?  For me, this day is attached to a reminder of what hatred causes and how ignorance never brings about anything good.  And 15 years later there is still so much hatred and ignorance not just in the world, but in our country.

Regardless of that, 9/11 does help to remind us all of the brave and courageous souls that risked their lives and even lost their lives, by helping others on that day.  If there is anything that was "good" that came out of that tragedy, was that for the first time in my life at least, I saw our country come together in a way I have not seen since.

Maybe I am just naive and always will be, to think that goodness, love, kindness and acceptance will just envelop this country and make it better someday.  But I choose to be naive about that, as silly as that sounds, because it gives me one thing-HOPE.  Without hope I am lost and I like to believe that anyone who didn't have hope would be lost as well.  And hope is different for everyone.  You don't have to say out loud, "I hope for this or for that," to have it.  You can just feel it in your soul where you don't even have to say the word, to know it's there.  It is that feeling that you get that just reminds you to keep looking forward.

Via Pinterest

I will never forget what this day means to not only me but to the rest of the country and the world.  My heart goes out to everyone who lost someone because of the hatred and ignorance that created this event.  And I look to hope, to beauty, to the possibility that maybe some day in my lifetime, we will all live in a world with less hate.

Here's to the many fighters, warriors, survivors, lost ones, and brave souls who continue to strive for good, and who continue to push through all of the hate.  If there is anything we can do, it's to use such tragic events such as 9/11 as motivators to go out there and change the world for the better.  Because WE CAN.

Let's all shed some light today and always.

Kim