Carlos Collazo

Twenty Five Years Later

When September 11 happened I was just seven years old, just starting first grade of elementary school.

I was far too young to understand what was actually going on that day. I was old enough to realize—probably for the first time—that the world was far bigger than just my life and that bad things could happen in it.

Even at that age I have vivid memories of the day. I remember looking up into the sky, hoping I wouldn't see a plane—what if that plane was headed towards us?

Like everyone, I've learned more about 9/11 over the years.

About what exactly happened that day, and the reasons why. About the immediate reactions and responses from those on the ground in New York trying to save lives. About how journalists attempted to process what exactly was happening in realtime. About how we united as a country—far too briefly—in the face of the attack. And about the response we made and the impacts that day and the conflict to come would have on everyday life for Americans and people around the world.

It's hard to believe it's been 25 years. And it's also hard to wrap your head around how such a formative, lived event for some is just another piece of history learned in a classroom for others.

There are a few stories I've kept coming back to on each anniversary of September 11. This year I added a few more to that list, as well as a few podcasts and videos that are more than worth the time.

Those are shared below.

Twenty-five years after the attacks, “Never Forget” is a T-shirt slogan. A third of the American public is too young to recall that day. Anniversaries have become rote rituals in which politicians describe scenes they did not witness and national unity that no longer exists. To get beyond the benumbed abstraction, it’s necessary to remember with specificity. September 11 was a lived event. One way to recall it meaningfully, then, is through a life.

Writing

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