For many of us 911 is a vivid memory of the horrors of lost lives and the impact it had on all of us. For many others, they only heard about it in history books. History shapes the way we see the world and how we respond to it. And the question is, does it also imprison us from moving forward?

My childhood experiences shaped the way I see the world, how I respond to things, and what I believe. It imprisoned me for a long time. Over the years I had to learn to re-evaluate my approaches to situations, my boundaries, my behaviors, I had to learn to trust, to respond instead of react, to believe that I am worth something and that my role in life has meaning.

911 framed the way we see people, the way we categorize groups of humans, the way that we judge without knowing people’s stories. The last 20 + years have changed the US, so much has happened and I wonder how many of us have taken the time to reevaluate our lives and relearn things. Does our history imprison us?

I work with UC Merced students and I am so impressed with their knowledge, their hearts, their dedication to make a difference, but I am also saddened on how superficial at times their thinking is, how much of their knowledge comes from social media and google searches instead of a deep personal conviction. But then I have to think about the world they have grown up in, a world of violence, and greed, and betrayal, and corruption and so many more things and I realize that those are the things that shaped them. It might have in prisoned them as well. Their worldview is based on what they know. Who can they trust? Who is their role model? Who will create a safe space for them? No wonder they wait to commit, no wonder they don’t easily trust, no wonder they don’t want to express strength in their personal convictions.

These young people will be our next presidents, our governors, our nurses, our teachers….. Let’s make sure they have a solid grounding, a good moral compass, a way to process through the things that are happening around them. Let’s invest in our next generation! Let’s make sure that they don’t live under the shadow of the past, but learn from it and create new creative ways to Iive in a better world.