9-11 Memorial

The 9-11 Memorial is absolutely gorgeous. It is so grounded, so massive, so simple, and so magnificent. You can’t help but feel something in the presence of all those names lining two waterfalls where the World Trade Center buildings once stood.

I think part of the reason the memorial is so powerful is because it envelopes all of your senses. You can see exactly where the buildings were. You can see the names, feel each and every name of each and every person that lost their life. You feel the breeze, the water spraying up onto your face from down below. The sound of the constant falling water takes you out of time, out of place, and envelopes you. It forces you, in the most gentle, unassuming way possible, to reflect, to be silent, and to feel.

The massiveness of the whole thing is also very awe inspiring. Those huge basins full of water and the endless pit in the centers of both really impact you. I felt like the buildings were falling. I could feel the emptiness above me where two buildings full of people should have been. That falling water is like the buildings forever falling.

And I know we could all feel it. We were all so taken by the memorial. And when we saw a woman’s name and “her unborn child” I know we all felt that loss. When a memorial can do that to so many different people, it is definitely a successful memorial.