Land that I love

Ten years ago I was getting ready for school when my dad called from work in L.A. and said to turn on the news, that something terrible was happening. All day at school we watched the news in each of my classes, not believing that what we were seeing could be real. In my seminary class, however, my teacher said that we were not going to watch the news. She instead gave us a break from watching the tragedy and taught us a lesson about hope and peace. She read us some scriptures and explained that sometimes bad things happen to good people and that it doesn't mean that God doesn't exist or that he doesn't love those people. It just means that everyone has their free agency and sometimes people use their agency in terrible ways. I was grateful for that lesson and the peace that it brought to me as a teenager confused at what was happening and why something like this would happen. I still get choked up every time I think about the people who suffered that day. I still get a little teary eyed every time I sing a patriotic song or learn about heroes who fight to protect our freedoms in the military and here at home.

One thing that stands out to me is the days and weeks following September 11. Everyone seemed a little more patriotic, a little more friendly and a little more willing to help their neighbors. I was living with my stepmom at the time and she lived most of her life in England. I remember her saying a couple of weeks after 9/11 how she was so impressed and amazed at how America seemed to pull together in the face of the tragedy. She said that if the same thing had happened in England, she didn't know if they would have pulled together with as much patriotism as America had. I am so proud to be an American and hope that we remember the principles that our nation was founded on and continue to be a nation with principles to be proud of. I hope we never forget those lessons we learned from the tragedy. God bless America!