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Reflections From September 11, 2001

George Kalantzis
4 min readSep 11, 2020

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Perched above my experiences, I can now see each of my days tightly woven together — GK

Photo by Matteo Catanese on Unsplash

This week, I’ve felt heavy. In retrospect, it is the anniversary of the attacks on the Twin Towers in NY, and it hits differently each year. If there is anything meditation and mindfulness has taught me over the last year, it is to get curious as to why I feel heavy. As I closed my eyes to take a few deep breaths, I could see clearly how my path in life has led me here today.

In an era today where a population feels an entitlement to posting #’s to remember, people have forgotten the true meaning of sacrifice.

Nineteen years ago I was a confused teenage boy who got caught up on the wrong path. Prior to September 11, I was in the delayed entry program haven already signed up to join the Marines. With my troubled teenage state, there were a few obstacles standing in my way: I did not have enough credits to graduate high school, I hated running, and smoked a lot of weed. When the recruiters told me there was nothing they could do to help me graduate, I was devastated. Not only was I going to have to admit to my parents I was not going to graduate, but I was also embarrassed because many of my friends were heading off to colleges and the military.

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George Kalantzis
George Kalantzis

Written by George Kalantzis

George is a professional storyteller, a dad to a sassy and adventurous eight year-old girl, and the author Of Nowhere To Go

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