Every year, September 11 stops me for a moment. I remember being in downtown Chicago, and when I heard about it, it didn’t seem real. I spent every waking moment watching the news and feeling utter sorrow at the loss of life. I learned about the stories of people who lost their lives that day and I was in awe of the heroism of our service members and first responders. As an HR professional, I remember having to speak with the father of an employee we lost on 9/11. You never forget.
Twenty-five years later, I can still remember the feeling that we were vulnerable in a way many of us had never imagined, much like the shock our nation experienced after Pearl Harbor in 1941. It was frightening and impossible to comprehend that it was happening.
In the midst of this tragedy, we saw courage and hope. We saw strangers helping strangers and so many others reaching out to help. We saw communities come together as one. And somehow, from the ashes of that terrible day, we found a unity and strength that I have not seen since.
Our country looks very different today. We live in a time that can feel incredibly divided and polarized, and sometimes I wonder whether we have forgotten how much stronger we are when unified as one community versus acting as a group of strangers.
Maybe that sounds idealistic.
But twenty-five years after September 11, it is still something I hope for.
That we can disagree without losing our civility. That we can remember what connects us. And despite all of our differences, we can find our way back to being one nation, one community—stronger together.
Today, I simply remember. And I hope.
I hope it doesn’t take another tragedy to bring us together.
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