It has been 20 years since 9/11 but that does not mean that people have forgotten about it. Not everyone remembers it the same, in fact, everyone remembers it differently. Many were not alive, others were too young to remember, and some remember every detail of the day whether they were in New York or not. 

We are still reminded almost every day of the tragedy.  We continue to memorialize the people involved, the heroes of the day, and thank the reporters who covered it. This is where the 9/11 Memorial and Museum comes into play. The site is celebrating its 10th year of being opened. It has attracted millions of visitors each year. Over 4 million people visited in the first year. The memorial has not completed a tally since the start of the pandemic, but in 2018 the memorial had over 6.6 million visitors bringing the total count to 43 million.

The site has different parts that attract visitors including; the north and south tower pools, survivor tree, as well as a memorial glade. The pools are the focal points. They each cover almost an acre and have names of people who were killed on 9/11 and also the terrorist attack of 1993. The names were strategically placed, based on friends, families, coworkers, and who was lost where. The pools are the largest manmade waterfalls in North America and symbolize how they will never be filled and act as an absence that we have since 9/11.

The survivor tree is a pear tree from ground zero that was saved and nursed back to health, it symbolizes the perseverance of the country. The memorial glade is a newer addition opened in 2019; the plaza represents the people who are sick or have died from the toxic air coming from the crashes. Some other additions have been made since the initial opening including a spot in the museum called Comeback Season that spotlights how sports united the country and helped people heal from the attacks.

Although 9/11 will never be forgotten, the museum and memorial will help remind us what an awful experience the attacks were yet help honor the victims.