My Thoughts on the 9/11 Memorial

Hi everyone!

I had never been to either the 9/11 Memorial or the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, so I really enjoyed the experience of visiting them this past Thursday. Although I did not lose anyone in my immediate family on the day of the attacks, I certainly was, and still am, affected by that tragic event in a rather profound way. As I walked around the two pools reading the seemingly endless list of names, they really struck an emotional chord in me. The one in the picture below that reads, “Vanessa Lang Langer and her unborn child,” caused me to pause in a moment of reflection, for I was admirable of the mother-to-be’s selfless act, yet deeply troubled by the life that never was.

I really enjoyed the sound of the waterfall as it created an overall soothing sensation around the memorial. The sight of the fluid, rather than static, water also brought a sense of being cleansed, as if all the hatred, anger, and despair surrounding that day was being washed away into the dark depths of the pools. We are now in a process of regrowth as we begin to rebuild physically, in the form of new trees and buildings, but emotionally as well. And this, I thought, was very appropriately reflected in the sign they placed on the grass.