Always Remember

The summer of 2001 was a tough one. Things were starting to fall apart, just when I was thinking they were about to move forward. It was a shock. I was devastated. I forgot how to do things like sleep and eat. I couldn't stand to be alone. Quite honestly, I was losing it. Depression set in, fast and strong. And the worst part was that I didn't feel like anyone could understand what I was going through. I felt like the whole world was happy and content except for me. I couldn't talk to anyone about how bad things were for me, because I couldn't bear to hear "everything happens for a reason" or "time heals all wounds" one more time.

Then 9/11 hit. I will forever remember watching footage on the TV at work of the Twin Towers falling, my hand over my mouth, a sick feeling in my stomach. After the Pentagon was hit, we were all terrified it was World War III. What was going to happen next? What city would be hit next? Could it be us? We were evacuated shortly after that, and my drive home took twice as long as it normally did because everyone was trying to head out of the city at the same time. I cried the whole way home. My own personal wounds were still fresh and new, but at least before I'd felt somewhat safe in my everyday routines. It was like my sense of security was completely ripped away from me in every aspect of my life.

Now, ten years later, my personal wounds have healed. I'm stronger than I was back then. I met and married the love of my life, which probably wouldn't have happened if I hadn't gone though that awful summer. I'm working to fulfill my own dreams now, rather than live through someone else's. I will always remember 2001 as a year of great sadness, but good things can come from sadness. Light comes after darkness. Hope can come from despair.

I'm fully aware my own pain from that year is nothing compared to what the families and friends of the victims of 9/11 went through and are still going through. But I know I'm going to get emotional this weekend, thinking about how far things have come. How I got the happy ending I was looking for.

Time does heal all wounds, as they say.