I remember

Watching the footage of 9/11 this morning still makes me incredibly emotional. I remember the day so clearly, it was a crisp, sunny, beautiful morning in Connecticut, and as I pulled into my dental school parking lot I made too sharp of a right turn and punctured the right front tire of my Saturn (typical Anjali driving story, I know!) Sean and I had been in NYC the weekend before, we attended a Yankees game that Saturday and woke up Sunday morning and debated whether to visit the Trade Center or the Bronx Zoo. We decided to head to the zoo, and as we were on the subway we talked about how crazy we both were to not live here. Anyway, it was about 7:30 AM when the tire incedent occurred, and I frantically called a towing service to pick up my car and hurried up to the clinic so that I wouldn't be late for my first patient of the morning, he was my periodontal test case and I needed to pass to fulfill a requirement. I was busy scaling away when the news of the first plane hitting the tower came in over the radio. Initially we believed it to be a sessna, an accident of some first time pilot. As more details emerged, my patient became very upset and opted to leave. Many of my instructors and classmates had friends and family in New York and were attempting to contact them. The magnitude of what occurred was becoming clear. I felt an urgent need to speak to my family members even though I knew that they were not in danger. My Mom was at a seminar in Baltimore (she and her coworkers ended up renting a car and driving all the way back to Florida the next day), my sister in Ohio, and my Dad in Florida. The cell phone lines were clogged and it took over an hour to get through. I still remember feeling such relief when I heard their voices, and at that moment realized that I didn't want to be far away from them ever again. That day greatly influenced my decision to move back to Florida. So many people around me and at Sean's office (many were based out of the New York office and working on a project in Hartford) weren't able to get in touch with their loved ones, it was becoming a chaotic and emotional scene. Classes were soon canceled and our hospital began preparing for potential casualties. I remember just standing around with other classmates and feeling helpless, we all desperately wanted to do something to help, so we all headed to the red cross to try and give blood. When we got there the line was so long that we had to leave our name and number on a card so that they could contact us when they could get to us. So I went home and Sean and I watched the TV for hours. We just couldn't seem to turn it off. I remember the fear, deep sadness, and lack of control that I felt that day, and though I wasn't directly affected, as an American I deeply felt the loss. The next day I went out and bought a small American flag and displayed it on the front door, and watched others do the same. We were all united in our grief and dismay. For my generation, this was a moment that we will remember vividly for the rest of our lives, "where were you on 9/11". Five years later, so much has changed, and so much has stayed the same. For most Americans like myself, we continue to live our lives, going to work, taking care of our children, and complaining about high gas prices...But for others, life will never be the same, some must go on living after experiencing great loss, and others continue to sacrifice to protect our way of life. I fall under the labels of "liberal" and "Democrat", but most important, I am an "American". We are all united in our desire to be safe, love and protect our children, protect the environment, maintain civil liberties, defend human rights and have a thriving ecomomy, we just differ on how to achieve those goals. I hope that we can stop labeling each other and instead have educated and meaningful debates about how to address these important issues. That is the American way.