This Tuesday, people will go about doing what they normally do on this ordinary day. Sadly, many of them will go the entire day without taking a second to reflect on what happened 11 years ago. You’re probably recalling where you were when you heard the tragic news.

It feels like yesterday when my 4th grade elementary school teacher Miss. Harlan interrupted class to inform a credulous group of kids, including myself, that something terrible had happened. Some students were checked out of school immediately, not understanding why, while others stayed to spend the rest of the day watching a collective group of shocked teachers crowd around a television set.

The events that took place in New York and Washington, D.C. weren’t disturbing to me until I came home after school to find my mother, a New York native, glaring at the television set holding back her tears.  Since I was still pretty young, I couldn’t fully grasp the severity of the situation, but her tears quickly helped me realize.

The truth is, 9/11 has changed a lot, from the way we board airplanes at the airport to grown terrorist stereotypes against those of middle-eastern decent. America’s sense of security has been shaken since the al Qaeda led attacks, but since then, the people of this nation have done what they do best: Stand together through adversity.

Although we all wish the bravery shown by Americans in response could have been initiated on a happier note, it reminds us why we praise the red, white and blue. The men and women, from police and fire departments who lost their lives in the act of heroism, either running inside the collapsing skyscrapers or lifting trapped victims from destruction, are impossible to forget. 

Unity is what has kept this great nation together not just through 9/11 but other afflictions in our long history including Hurricane Katrina and Pearl Harbor.  Osama Bin Laden is finally gone, giving Americans closure; however, his death could never avenge the lives of children, parents, or spouses lost that day.

Speaking on behalf of the editorial staff, we aren’t asking you to grieve or mourn but simply to reflect. This anniversary is about the 3,000 victims lost on that ordinary morning 11 years ago and about the ones who don’t forget to honor them.  God Bless America.

The City of Valdosta will host a Remembrance Ceremony on Sept. 11 at 8:45 a.m.