The Worst Day of My Life
Monday, May 2, 2011 at 1:34PM No, it wasn't the day I learned of my diagnosis. I wouldn't even consider that day a "bad" day, if I'm being perfectly honest about it.
I'm talking about September 11, 2001.
I remember the day as if it was yesterday. I was a sophomore at Duke. My roommate, Rose, and I were slowly waking up and getting ready for our day. Not surprisingly, Rose was up and moving before I was and sat at her computer, checking her friends' AIM away messages. She gasped in horror when she read one of them and said, "What?! A plane flew into the World Trade Center?"
We turned on the TV and, moments later, we watched as the second plane flew into the WTC. My heart sank. I couldn't believe what was happening, and I immediately felt sick knowing that many, many people were dead or dying. Minutes later, Will walked into our room with a stunned look on his face. He had learned of the news while in class, and rushed over to our dorm room afterwards. Our friends Katie and Adam came in moments later. Adam was in tears. I think we all were.
We all knew, as did our nation, that life would never be the same. Our collective innocence was shattered that day, and our collective hearts were broken. And, truly, nothing has ever been the same.
Last night, President Obama delivered historic news: our military, while in pursuit of him, had killed the mastermind of 9/11, Osama bin Laden.
All of those memories of 9/11 rushed back to my mind, and while I breathed a sigh of relief at the fact that we had stopped bin Laden, I prayed for the victims of that terrible tragedy. I prayed that this death would provide some closure and some peace -- a richer and less tortured life -- for those who suffered so much on that nightmarish day. The nightmare will never really be over, but it's my hope that 9/11 will feel like something that happened long ago: an old, scarred over wound instead of a fresh, bloody one. It's a lofty hope, but I'm still going to wish for it.
And in marking this death, I hope that we all will remember how precious and powerful each of our lives is.
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