Right guys, I'm afraid it's time to get all deep on you (I give you my most sincere apologies in advance).
Recently I went with my family on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday to New York. It was such an amazing experience, and even though we did loads of amazing things, one thing has affected me the most and I keep thinking about it. This thing was when I went and visited the 9/11 memorial.
Going to the memorial wasn't really something we planned on going in at first, we just thought that we would walk past it so we could say we saw where it took place, but when we got there, we decided it would be both silly and disrespectful not to donate some money, and we found out that this was how you gained entry to the memorial. I think that because I wasn't expecting to go in, I hadn't prepared myself both mentally and emotionally to see where so many people lost their lives. I was utterly speechless as I realised the sheer size of the two world trade centres, and the number of people who lost their lives that day. I know some of you might be thinking "you're so stupid, the facts and figures are known, and everyone knows that just over 3000 people died that day", but honestly, when you see the size of the area where the buildings used to be, and you look at the height of the skyscrapers around it, it takes your breath away.
I didn't take that many photos whilst at the memorial, because it felt almost disrespectful to be taking pictures where so many people lost their lives and thousands of people lost someone important to them. I managed to hold myself together until I saw someone had placed 4 red roses on some names on the memorial - one for each family member she had lost on that day.
When you speak to people in New York, you soon realise that almost everyone there has been affected in some way. I met a mounted policeman, who originates from Yorkshire (England), and my parents started to chat to him (Our family all come from Yorkshire). I noticed that on his horse, he wore a brooch on his harness, which the policeman had designed himself to commemorate the friends he had lost on that day. He was also there, and he told us that he still suffers with survivors guilt, and would do anything to have died there instead of his younger brother, who was a fire-fighter who died in an attempt to free the people still trapped inside the World Trade Centres. Unfortunately I couldn't get a good picture of the brooch, as I didn't want to use my flash and scare the horse. (I realise now that this might sound a bit silly, because we were standing in Times Square and there were hundreds of flashing lights around us, but ah well.) He also told me things about the attacks that I didn't know, like the fires produced on that day from the crash burned until December - 3 Months.
I've been back home from New York for almost a week now, and I keep thinking about 9/11 and the people left behind (hence why I decided to write this blog post.) I can't help thinking things like "What if it had never happened?" "How different would New York, and the world be?" "What would have happened if the brave people on one of the other hijacked planes hadn't decided to sacrifice their lives, and the plane had met their desired locations and killed thousands more people, and possibly the president?" These thoughts keep on going round and round in my head, and I've realised that just one day in history can change the world forever. A small group of individuals can make history and make sure that the world is never the same again.
If the hijackers had never decided to target the four places in America, would we have the same amount of terrorism worries? No. When I was in New York, there was a high-alert terrorist threat, that apparently only people in America knew about. On my flight home, it was half empty, as people were too scared to fly in case people had tried to copy the September 11 2001 attacks. If the people on one of the hijacked planes hadn't launched a counter-attack, there would be a lot more deaths, so they also have helped stop loss of life, even though they sacrificed their own lives. If the plane had met their desired location of the White House, would a world war have started? Thankfully we will never know, all because of those brave people who helped change the world forever.
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| The Freedom Tower, New York. This is the new One World Trade Center, and stands in the place of the 6 World Trade Center, and it is currently the 3rd tallest building in the World, and the tallest in the western hemisphere (thanks Wikipedia!) |
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| The Surviving Tree. This tree was found still intact, but very badly damaged between the two collapsing towers. It is considered one of the most delicate and protected landmarks in the memorial, and when I visited it had policeman in front of it in case anyone tried to damage the tree (It's own personal bodyguards!) |
The main things that I have learnt from my visit to the 9/11 Memorial in New York are:
1. Appreciate your life and everything you have, you never know when it could be taken away from you.
2. YOU are never "a nobody". The people who launched a counter-attack on the terrorist planes were ordinary civilians, just like you and me, and they helped to change the world, and they helped save thousands of lives.
3. A couple of minutes can change the world, so make the most of your life.
MY MAIN MESSAGE TO YOU:
Appreciate the value of your life and what you've got - YOU can make something of your life, and YOU are special and important.
The motto printed on all of the merchandise available at the memorial is "United By Hope", and this is what we all are. We are all linked to one another and united, and my visit to the 9/11 memorial really enlightened me as to how a nation pulls together in a time of need, and how they join each other in the most horrible and desperate of times - so it may sound like a weird message to you, but if people can join together in times like this, then you should be able to do it in your everyday life. So go and unite people!
[Edit: - Just realised that the paragraph above makes absolutely no sense - but I'll leave it in here to you can laugh at how I try to waffle on and create a completely random life lesson]
If you want to find out more about the 9/11 Memorial, the design and how you can get involved, head on over to their website by clicking here.
P.S. Sorry for waffling
P.P.S. If I offended anyone with anything that I said in this blog post, I apologise with all my heart as it wasn't intended, I know how much this topic means to some people, and I honestly didn't mean to upset anyone (sorry again if this applies to you).
❤
