NOTE: This following post does speak of September 11, 2001. Please do not think I am ignoring the event or downplaying its significance. I just have a few words to say that relates and it may come out all wrong, but attribute that to my lacking writing skills and not my heart. Thank you.
"Time waits for no man" - Unknown
Yesterday was September 11. 10 years ago on the date, terrorists flew 2 planes into the Twin Towers. Thousands of people were hurt or injured, millions of people in mourning and/or loss. Everyone remembers where they were on September 11, 2001 when the planes hit. I was in my high school chemistry class watching Spongebob (don't judge us, Spongebob provided a lot of life lessons) when a fellow teacher ran into change the channel to CNN. What I remember is that the entire class sat in shock. Some cried, some bowed their heads, and some just stared. I sat speechless as I watch real people trapped in real buildings fall apart for all the world to see. We watched the channel the entire time, from 9 a.m. in the morning until late in the afternoon. All day and all week, that was the news story on every channel. And I still can't fathom it. I will never forget September 11.
A decade has gone by so fast. 10 years. Approximately 3,650 days.87,600 hours and counting. The 10th Anniversary of September 11 made me realize something. I am not guaranteed a long life on this Earth, I am not guaranteed a happy life on this Earth and I am not guaranteed that I will know my last day on this Earth. Sometimes I view my life as a novel, a riveting tale with sights and sounds and a flurry of interesting people and places on a never-ending ride through good times. But I am not guaranteed none of those things. My life life shares 2 things in common with a novel: it had a beginning in 1985 and it will have an end once my ink runs dry. I hope to have no regrets once that day comes.
September 11, 2001 is one date that will forever will be in my novel. As I look back over a period of 10 years, I realize I didn't change much. I didn't take advantage of the opportunities presented to me. I didn't take advantage of the options I presented to myself. I stagnated and in some ways slid back. I can't even say I gave it my all. I did just enough to get by. I followed directions, I went where I was supposed to go and did what I supposed to do, never veering off the path. The only thing is, after a decade of follow the leader, I realized I do not want any of this. The bulk of my novel is written by me, and if I continue to sit around follow directions and follow the leader, it will be a boring read. I don't want to try relive my life on my deathbed and imagine the different outcomes for each missed path or opportunity. I can't do anything about the past 25 years, and I am not promised tomorrow, but each day I plan to live in the moment and live for me. Here is hoping my novel becomes a bestseller....
I will never forget September 11, 2001. It is the day I realized my own mortality.
Questions? Comments? Concerns?
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