Building Our Strength After Fifteen Years
By: Hope Wilkos, Writer
The images are as vividly haunting as if it was only yesterday, the pain continues to rip at our hearts, leaving us with a sort of emptiness that seems difficult to understand and impossible to erase.
Our world has been recreated around one specific date, September 11, 2001. The safety on our shores that we took for granted for years and years prior to that dreadful day has vanished forever and we woke up to a more cautious and less trusting way of life.
The passing of time has raised our resilience, the memories of that frightful day hardly erased, but an eternity behind us, making America more determined and stronger in spirit. A new day has dawned with hope, promise and positive energy.
Now, in the spot where two towering structures used to stand guarding the city, progress has resurrected a skyscraper signifying a veracity worthy of commanding a city that is one of the gateways to all the cultures of the globe. Not far from this huge steel structure lies solitude and remembrance,a tree-filled park in the midst of the hustle and bustle of city life. With its peacefully descending water pools and the names of nearly 3,000 people etched on granite surrounding the pools, here is where we give thanks and bask in the glory of those whose lives were suddenly cut short unnecessarily. Those of us that survived the pain, take comfort in the fact that we can come here to this park in the heart of Manhattan to grieve and find solace.
The 9/11 Museum is probably the most touching memorial of all. Tastefully put together as an emotional remembrance of how all of our lives were affected on 9/11/2001, visiting the museum deserves almost an entire day. Not only does walking through the hallways give us a sense of understanding, but for some, it brings a sort of closure.
It is unlikely we can ever walk in the shoes of those we so dearly miss and feel the fright and desolation that they experienced, but given this opportunity of walking through the 9/11 museum, we are entering a part of their lives that keep them in our hearts and souls forever.
