The other day, my boyfriend and I went to the World Trade Center memorial. We both had assignments to do (I had one for Art History) so we figured we’d go check it out together. However, what I thought would simply be an assignment turned into something much more. The memorial is absolutely breathtaking. For anyone who has not gone or has never seen pictures, the memorial is a park that features two huge pools with mini waterfalls in them. These pools are the footprints of the Twin Towers—they are where the buildings once stood. The pools, called the North Pool and the South Pool, feature engraved names all around the edges—names of people who lost their life on 9/11. Instead of going full on tourist and snapping pictures like there was no tomorrow, I just stood by the South Pool and just stared down into the water. I thought about 9/11 and how, just 12 years ago, America’s biggest tragedy happened right at that very spot. I thought about all of the people who lost their lives and read the names that were engraved. I thought about how fortunate I was that no one I knew lost their life, but how others were not as fortunate. I thought about how I was 6 at the time, and did not fully understand what was going on. On that day, as soon as my mom got to her workplace, she left and rushed over to my school to take me home. Her eyes were glued to the television when we got home. I remember talking to my dad that night, who could not come home because he was worked in Pennsylvania that day and when the buildings were attacked and fell, the police closed all of the bridges and tunnels, prohibiting anyone from coming or leaving. And yet, 12 years later, the memories were still fresh in my mind.

I highly encourage every person to go see the World Trade Center memorial. Even if you did not necessarily lose someone, still go. It really was a captivating experience and is one of those things that you cannot just read about. I promise you will not be disappointed. Just get your tickets in advance. The lines to get in without a ticket are horrendous.