The most touching part of the exhibit was a wall of notecards from visitors who were asked to write a short statement on how they had changed since 9/11. There were cards from veterans, mothers of soldiers, relatives of those who died at the Pentagon and in NY, survivors, and people like me who simply watched in terror from afar.
Many cards were pictures drawn by children - innocent sketches of two towers with clouds of black smoke and the words "I will remember" written in squished child-like letters by hands obviously too young to have witnessed the event. And yet they still remember.
Many cards simply said, "God bless the victims and the families." While others said, "God bless us all."
I wanted to add my own statement to the wall, but I sat and stared at my blank notecard for quite sometime, not knowing what to write. Words usually come so easily to me when I have a pencil in my hand, but I was stumped by the initial question and overwhelmed with emotion from what others had written. How had I changed since 9/11?
The words of two of my all time favorite speeches kept echoing in my mind. I wished I could just copy and paste Mr. Faulkner's nobel prize speech and Elder Holland's talk on terror and triumph onto my notecard. All those words about ultimate victory and how no amount of evil and terror will ever defeat man's compassion and faith.
So that's what I tried to summarize on my little card. How despite the horror that happened on that day, I am proud to have become part of the generation that met unbelievable evil with overpowering good. A generation that still diligently battles the daily effects from 9/11 because it has more faith than fear, more compassion than hate. It is an honor to have lived through that hour and to be able to add my small contributions at rebuilding hope.
And I guess that is how I have changed because of 9/11, when faced with fear - I stand a little taller, walk a little stronger, and try to love just a little bit more.
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