Arriving on site of the 9/11Memorial Museum was…odd. The air
was still and the sky was completely clear, it was like even Mother Nature
herself wanted to honor them. The clearness of the sky made some of the tops of
skyscrapers blend with the atmosphere, like some beautiful optical illusion. We
shuffled into the building little knowing about the ground we stood upon.
After entering the building and successfully getting past
security, we split into smaller groups of our own choosing. I toured the museum with two others, Daniel
and Chloe. We walked down the ramp onto
an overhang, looking down on the artifacts below. My stomach twisted into
knots, feeling like I was going to fall. There was art and quotes all over. A
particular favorite of mine was a giant blue wall of painted blue paper squares
with a quote in the middle. ‘No day
shall erase you from the memory of time’ –Virgil. Among the art was rubble, stairs that
escapees ran down, a fire truck that got half-razed. They even had a foundation wall.
They displays that were showing all around the museum were
disturbing at best. Although it wasn’t the displays or the artifacts that
really hit me, it was the pictures. The museum showed pictures of all kinds,
the planes, the crashing, the firefighters, the debris, the attack itself, but
worst of all the chosen deaths of those who jumped. We walked around a corner
and there it was, photos and stories of the individuals trapped with no other
choice but to jump. I can’t imagine how
they felt, realizing that there wasn’t a point either way they would die. I
can’t imagine what was running through their minds that convinced them that it
would’ve been easier to jump. I can’t imagine the hopelessness they must of
felt to choose death over the small possibility of life. And that doesn’t even scratch the surface of
what they might’ve felt. People knew them, people watched them as their choice
was confirmed no going back. Their stories were absolutely heartbreaking.
-Emily
S.
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