A moment frozen in time

On September 11, 2001, I was a sophomore at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI. That morning I had a 7 a.m. Heritage class. We had been reading the book "Rape of Nanking" and discussing World War II. For some reason, that morning's discussion turned to the attitudes of the people left at home during the war and how they responded to the situations they were facing.

We threw back and forth ideas about what makes the generations before us seem so different from our own. I was a little bored, so I looked up the clock just as someone commented "I think that the problem with our generation is that we have never been involved in a war and had to make sacrifices for our country." The clock read 7:45 a.m.

When my class ended a little later, I walked back to my dorm to take a shower. It struck me as odd that the bathroom was totally empty and the hall was silent. When I went into the shower room, I turned on the radio because the quiet was a little unnerving. It wasn't until I was actually in the shower that I realized there wasn't any music. The DJ was saying something about the Twin Towers being attacked. I didn't understand what was going on. I thought that he was doing some sort of weird skit or joke that I didn't get.

I went back to my room and turned on the TV to see this:

I sat staring at the tv in my bathrobe unable to move. How do you process something like that?

I finally got myself dressed and went outside. Carthage is a beautiful campus, and as I looked out over Lake Michigan, the world was different. I couldn't wrap my brain around this beautiful sight ...

... and know that just across the lake the sky was very different. How could anyone do this to other people?

As the next few days unfolded, more details came out about the situation. The campus became a flurry of activity, but the one event I remember the most was the candle light vigil held around kissing rock. There were so many students praying, crying, hugging and just being apart of something bigger than themselves.

This event will forever live in my mind. I will never forget the events of that day, and as my brother fights in Afghanistan to defend his country, I say a prayer of thanks for people like him who are willing and able to put the good of others above their own self interests.