Almost everyone can recall that Tuesday morning in vivid detail. Looking back, Americans remember where they were, what they were doing, even what they were wearing when they were struck with the news that the Twin Towers had been attacked. For college students, however, the recollections are somewhat different.
While we, too, can summon similar details of that day with vicious clarity, we can also tell you abstractions – in particular, the confusion, vulnerability and agitation of experiencing a national tragedy at a young age. At the time, we didn’t completely understand what had happened, or why. Yet like all memorable or traumatic childhood events, September 11 has remained with us, shaping us now ten years later into a generation set apart in perspective and identity.
I was in fourth grade when it happened. Most college students were at similar, impressionable ages, ranging from eight or nine years old to 13 at most. At a time in our lives when our biggest worries should have been whether the new teacher was nice, or if the school cafeteria was really going to serve meatloaf two days in a row, we were bombarded one morning with a tragedy beyond our immature comprehension. Schools reacted in different ways. Some sent their students home. Others lugged TVs into classrooms, allowing the footage to explain the devastation in a way that teachers could not. Parents struggled similarly; a number chose to shield their children from the graphic TV coverage altogether. But in the end, most of us saw it, and can still picture it today. And even if we had never heard of the Twin Towers or the word “terrorist” before that morning, we recognized that we were being attacked. We felt dazed, vulnerable, and scared.
Ten years later, we are finally equipped with the knowledge and understanding to think about the events of September 11 critically. In debates, classes, and everyday conversation, we discuss their importance and implications. Yet beneath the well-spoken adult remains the child who, after one anything-but-ordinary Tuesday morning, saw the world a little differently. Maybe that gives us more compassion, more patriotism, or more awareness. Maybe it is reflected in our political beliefs or career aspirations. Or maybe, it is simply a way to identify with others our age, a common thread that binds together a generation. In any case, our feeling of connection toward September 11 is evident, apparent in the celebrations that rocked college campuses when Osama Bin Laden was killed this spring, as well as in the more somber memorial services that countless college students attended earlier this week.
In the end, the slogan “never forget” seems not only appropriate for today’s college students, but inescapable. September 11 is part of our past, and thus, it is part of us. This is not to say that it defines us – rather, it unifies us through common experience. Though the details of that day may eventually fade, this unity and perspective will likely endure, soft yet persistent like a childhood memory.