Reflection and Celebration

This weekend is a time for reflection for most Americans as well as a time for celebration among my best friends from college.

It's been 10 years since the attack of Sep 11, 2001. Do you remember where you were the moment you heard the news? Where were you? Who were you with? What did you do after?

I was reading the NPR and they have a special series about Sep11. I am not American and I don't know anyone that died because of the tragedies occured that day. However, while I was reading NPR Journalists Reflect: Sept. 11, Then And Now, I started sniffling, got teary eyed and blew my nose. 10 years ago, on the night of Sep 11 (in HK), I was watching TV when suddenly news came on showing a plane crashed into the Twin Towers. I called my mom and she switched to CNN and moments later a second plane crashed into the other tower. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure where the Twin Towers were at the time. I've only been to New York City once about a year before it all happened. I didn't know any of these people, I had no attachment to the city, everything seemed so far and removed from me.

It wasn't until the moment my sister was checking-in at the airport, about to fly back the States for a new school year in college, that I realized how Sep 11 would forever affect us and everyone. At the airport, even before my sister reached the check-in counters, her suitcases were opened at the departure hall, publicly displayed for everyone to see, while being searched. Not the "let's open it up, poke around, close it back" kind of search; but the "let's open it up, take every single piece out, search the suitcase, search every single object, examine all the bags and packages, 30 minutes later close it back up" kind of search. I will no longer be able to carry drinks onto the plane to enjoy. I will no longer be able to carry my makeup and bathroom kit with me. When I started going to college, I needed to get to the airport at least an hour earlier than people going to other destinations because I needed to leave time for people to search my bags. (And to wait for those idiots that slow down the security lines because they lived in a cave and didn't know the guidelines changed for the last...10 years.) Catching a flight gives me more headaches and panic than catching a Chinatown bus these days. It used to be exciting and less chaotic. I never used to think I will die on a plane because of a terrorist attack. Recently, news came out that some terrorists have began to invent bombs hidden inside a person's body. That, really freaks me out. It is also the reason why I fully support full body scans. It's better than a strip search because no one touches you.

After the attacks, the United States (more like Bush) decided to go to war. It wasn't big for me then since I am, once again, far removed from the war zone. However, I now know people that went to and still are at war. I also think about all the people that lost their homes, their lives, their time because of the war. This war which nobody really knew what's going on and what to expect and manifested itself into something starting to become a never ending war. It is sad knowing people lost their loved ones to... to what?! What is this war for? Freedom? Freedom of whom?! Do Americans seem freer now because they went to war? I don't think so and everything they do is pretty much watched more intensely than before. Do people in Afghanistan seem freer? May be parts of the country, yes, but only a small part and they also live in constant fear. Is that really what going to war is about?

This weekend also marks the wedding of two of my best friends from college. I am so excited to see everyone and have a mini reunion. Without realizing, I have left the States for more than a year. People got engaged, people gave birth, people got married over the year. I am really happy to be able to witness the beginning of their marriage since I missed so many other important moments of people that made a difference in my life. I still remember the first time I met the bride in college, us going to the commons together, not being able to wake up to our 8am class and going to our first party in college together. Then the bride and groom started dating, getting to know the groom (started liking the groom). Haha. And soon they'll be husband and wife :D

This is a weekend which I celebrate my survival of a long-distance relationship for a year as well. I don't know how many more years of long-distancing will there be, but at least I can tell myself may be it's not THAT hard as people put it. It is hard, but not something that you can't manage. I didn't know how this year will be like coming back to HK. I had no expectation. Turns out, it wasn't that bad and I somehow managed to live with my family for the past year. I somehow got a job in the field I like and having great coworkers is another plus. It's sad that I don't know where I'll be in the next 5 years career-wise or life in general. I am, however, taking this as it comes. I may be going back to college in the States, going to stay at this company, moving to a new company, or moving to Singapore (I checked, they have openings for a job similar to mine right now... I'm not sure if they'll hire foreigners though as it is a government related job). I will, one day, settle down. One day... whenever that may be... If I do pursue as an Anthropologist, I may not even settle, ever.

So for this weekend, I mourn the lives lost during the Sep 11, 2001 attacks. I mourn the lives lost subsequently because of the attacks. I also celebrate the beginning of a wonderful marriage and the beginning of a new family. Hopefully in the next 10 years, the war will have ended and people will be able to rebuild their lives. While we will be reminded of the attacks every year to come, I hope I will be reminded of all the celebrations that will happen in the coming 10 years as well.