Nostalgia.

8 years ago.

Wow, has it really been 8 years already?

8 years ago I woke up in Lamoni, Iowa to a gorgeous fall day. It was my second year at Graceland and I was still living in the dorms with my roommate, Wish. I hopped out of bed, probably fairly tired, because I had an 8am class and who in college ever goes to bed before 1am? I certainly did not.

After getting out of bed, I started my morning routine which began with logging in to my computer. On my home page, all I saw were the headlines "Plane hits World Trade Center" and the pictures that told the story that words couldn't.

My first thought was, "Who would be so stupid to fly into a building?" Thinking- it must be an accident. It HAS to be an accident.

I walked to class across campus- a personal finance class- and the TVs in the building there showed nothing but the second plane hitting the second tower. Professors were everywhere telling us that classes were cancelled for the day.

I remember the school that day came together. We all were bound together as we tried to make sense of what was happening, as some of us tried to get into contact with loved ones in New York City. We had a prayer circle in the middle of campus multiple times that day as well as events that night to pray and send as much good as possible to everyone in New York- and the entire country- who were all grappling with the heartache, the confusion, the grief, the contemplation of the question we were all trying to figure out and understand: "What happened and WHY?"

We know a whole lot more now than 8 years ago about that day and while the pain of that day is much bigger for people in this country who lost someone personal that day, 9/11 is still a day that holds many memories, many feelings of pain, and many feelings of sadness each and every year it rolls around. It will never be forgotten.

Lately in the political news, I have tried to keep an open mind and try to determine how I feel about where this country is headed on several major issues. To me, it seems like the country is divided severely on some of these issues and not just because people truly believe one way or another but because they have their labels, "republican", "democrat", that they have to adhere to, regardless of how they may really think or feel. And it seem to me from people that I have talked to, sometimes people just believe what they believe because it is a "republican" ideal or a "democratic" ideal instead of just thinking for themselves in more of a bipartisan way and saying, "Hey, this isn't my 'party's' view (or maybe it is) but here is why I feel and how I think it is RIGHT for our country." I'm not saying this applies to everyone and that no one thinks for themselves, I'm just saying that I see this more often than not and I wish that we could get to a place where it isn't about party lines or attacks on people because they are liberal or conservative- it's just about differences of opinion but trying to still reach common goals for the good of everyone.

Thinking back on 9/11, I remember initially how the Graceland community came together that day. As the days went on, we saw how New York City bonded together and then the entire country bonded together...regardless of social class, political party, race, or age. It is unfortunate that as a result of such a tragic event, we all became one and were operating solely as one but it does make me hopeful that as we have many big decisions to be made in the coming year that will affect the future of our country, we can all come together as one once again in an effort to achieve one common goal- to do what is truly right for this great nation and the extraordinary people living in it.