Chattanooga will never be the same.
{Pause}
Let's go back to September 11, 2001....
I vividly remember sitting in Mrs. Johnson's reading class. Her facial expression and words are forever engraved in my memory.
"Our country is in great danger. Two planes just hit the World Trade Center."
To this day, I still have NO idea why she said this to a classroom of eight year olds. Anyone that knows me well can tell you I worry about everything. I worry about everything to the point I actually have anxiety issues that I've struggled with my entire life. Case in point, I was a nervous wreck that entire day. Whenever I got home from school, my mom and I immediately turned on the news. Within ten minutes the constant replay of the planes hitting the twin towers, people jumping from buildings, the crash sight of Flight 93, and footage of the Pentagon became too much. Taylor Raye had a melt down. For about a month after the tragic events of 9/11 my parents couldn't turn on the news around me. One time they didn't realize I was walking into the living room. Sure enough, Osama Bin Laden's face was on NBC Nightly News. I started shaking and couldn't move. I literally thought Osama Bin Laden was coming to 150 Hillvale Lane in Loudon, Tennessee to hurt my family. My parents had to constantly remind me that we were safe. This could never happen in our town.
Now let's go back to July 16, 2015....
Fourteen years later, I'm sitting at my desk logging shipment files (I've come a long way since Mrs. Johnson's reading class ;) ). I noticed a message from Holden in our GroupMe about a shooting in Chattanooga. Messages from our other friends followed soon afterward. At this point, I knew I needed to stop what I was doing to see what's going on in my hometown. I started to receive messages from my parents. They kept me updated until I took lunch and could watch the news in the break room. Before I could get to the news I thought this was some little shooting that would maybe reach state news. Wrong. It's national news and a terrorist attack.
But this is Chattanooga? Where nothing bad is supposed to happen? This is a nightmare.
About an hour after lunch, I went into the break room to grab some water. I looked at the television...
Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez
That moment is still a blur. I could not believe what I was actually seeing. Mohammad Abdulazeez went to my high school. I remember him as nothing but a friendly person. People that went to Red Bank weren't supposed to be terrorist. His little sister was one of my best friends in school. She always spoke so highly of her brother and how she looked up to him. How was this even possible?
Real talk, I had to leave work 30 minutes early. My mind was so many other places that didn't involve import operations.
About an hour later, the girl I remembered as nothing but sweet and always knew how to make me laugh was in handcuffs on CNN News.
This HAS to be a nightmare. Why is this happening?!
My heart was broken. It broke for the families and friends of the fallen marines and sailor. It broke for the Abdulazeez family.
It broke for the Chattanooga and Red Bank community.
July 16, 2015 taught me that no place in our country is safe. A terrorist attack can happen anywhere. It doesn't have to be New York or Boston. I know our armed forces will do everything in their power to protect the homeland. It has been said that the fallen marines fought to their death. They gave their all for their country. For their service, America is a stronger nation. I owe you my deepest gratitude.
As for Chattanooga, I am so proud to say that this is my home. All the pictures and videos posted on social media in the past two weeks has proved we are an amazing community. It's beautiful how tragic events can bring people together. What Mohammad and any others involved did was morally wrong and they will pay the price. His name might have raised terrorist threats, but he's made us #chattanoogastrong.
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