Never forget September 11, 2001.

It has been 15 years since this infamous day. Citizens gathered at the 9/11 memorials in New York and Arlington County to commemorate the men and women that lost their lives that day. The repercussions of this event had a strong impact on the country and still resonates within our community here at WS.

“I remember being here at school and we had a television in the principle’s office. We watched the first tower being hit,” said Becky Brandt, construction liaison and former WS assistant principal. “I was absolutely stunned.”

It was a tragic and life changing moment for many people. Several students and staff here at WS have family and friends that work at the Pentagon and are in the military. WS staff and parents really felt the shift in American culture and how threats were perceived.

“It’s an iconic moment in American history-things are forever changed. We have a sense of lost innocence,” said Brandt. “Part of our responsibility is to try help figure out how do we live, how do we raise children, how do we hope and plan for the future when we have to reconcile that with vulnerability that never goes away.”

Some of the young kids at WS weren’t alive when 9/11 actually happened, but they have been raised in a society where attacks on the public are frequent. Surveillance and high security are the norm because this generation has grown up to expect it.

“It’s something we should never forget even though we weren’t alive for it,” said freshman Maeve Hennessy. “I think growing up in an age where these things happen more frequently: it’s all [we’ve] ever known.”

This attack is looked at differently by the up and coming generations and that’s where the healing process is beginning.  WS students realize the pain of this event and want to channel that pain to help strengthen the country as a whole.

“When something bad like this happens to the country, it should cause the country to unite more,” said senior Emmanuel Allen.

Views like this are what makes moving on from this tragedy possible. We grieve for the innocent lives, and respect them by not living every single day of our lives in fear and pain. This is how we overcome as a nation.

“We have to balance remembrance with resiliency and how to move forward to exist in this new reality,” said Brandt.