Friday, September 11, 2009

Morning Mail – 09.11.09

On this Tuesday, I had an 10:00 class as a Freshman. I was pissed. I hated going to that class. Anyway, I woke up out of bed insisting that I would either be late or I wasn’t going. I was really concerned about my 10AM class. I woke up around 8:40, I go in the bathroom to brush my teeth, and when I come out I hear mad doors opening and closing and people going into the lounge. I walked in the lounge and everyone is standing there and they are like. “Son a plane just hit the World Trade Center.” I replied, “Well, I guess that means we don’t have class. I’m going back to sleep.” I literally walked back in my room and went to sleep.

As I laid there for a while, it began to sink in that this might be serious. And I got back up and went into the lounge and just as I walked in, the towers fell. I think it was around 10AM. At this point, I was convinced this was a movie that I just hadn’t seen before. Then I saw people running around trying to make phone calls. I ain’t have no cell phone at this point, so I’m just sitting in the lounge in disbelief.

The day would go on, classes were cancelled. I spoke to my parents around 10:30AM and everyone was safe. Being from the DC, I was concerned that the plane that hit the Pentagon would have affected someone in my family’s commute but it didn’t. Also, not knowing if other planes were going to crash elsewhere made me worried, but in those times you have to let go and let God.

In the evening, as we all sat glued to the TV. A nation together began to console each other and comfort each other. A girl who stayed on our floor, Reem had a sister who came to visit her from Dubai. (They were both from Dubai) And as we are all sitting around sharing our thoughts, her sister says, “I don’t know why everyone’s upset, this happens everyday in the Middle East, it’s about time it happened to the US.”

This is when I decided to duck down.

Although, her comments about it happening elsewhere were true, they were in poor taste. But it made us all think that day about how lucky we were as Americans and what this day truly meant. We lost a lot of lives, but we opened a lot of eyes. If it hadn’t been for this day I probably wouldn’t have a job in the industry that I’m in right now. (That’s a hint that I’m dropping to the public.) Let us remember that before this day we didn’t market and promote fear, or hate of the Middle East, nor did we insist on violating everyone’s privacy in this world. Let us remember those times of ignorant bliss. But also, let us be charged to give this opportunity of peace and calm to our children, so they do not grow up in this synthetic fear.

This is the morning mail.

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