Cassandra Day Shedd-ELF Contest Entry

Cassandra Day Shedd

I've been through a lot of truly terrible things in my life. A lot of people can say similarly. But very few stories can compare to the horrors of what happened on September 11th, 2001.

Cassandra Day Shedd is my foster mother. To me, she's one of the most inspiring women I've ever known.

Cassandra was working in the Bank of America building the day the Towers fell. She was a banker at the time, working with stocks. When she went in that morning, she and everyone else in the office thought it would be a normal day.

The Bank of America building is very close to where the Twin Towers once stood. Right next to them, in fact. So when they got word that a plane was headed for the Towers, panic rushed through everyone, gripping them at their core.

Cassandra had a booth near the window. When she told me her story of that day, she could barely get the words out. It's still traumatic and filled with sadness for her.

Cassandra saw the first plane hit the North Tower. She saw the fire bloom from the floors. She saw a man, with the fire at his back, jump out of a broken window to his death. It was horrible and traumatic.

She left that day, and went to her apartment in the north part of Manhattan. People were walking in the streets, away from the Towers, but still looking back. Most of the people were silent, but there was a silent agreement between them all that they'd help anyone who needed it that day.

When Cassandra got back to her apartment, her husband was there. They and their neighbors sat together, and watched as the Towers fell.

However, the trauma is not what is inspiring about the story.

The things that happened next for her are what are most inspiring.

When Cassandra told me about that day, she also told me of a strange spirit of unity and perseverance that followed the events of 9/11. Cassandra and her coworkers were offered time off, but they refused. They got back to work, this time in Chicago. They knew that America had suffered one of the most horrible single atrocities in its history.

They didn't let the events of 9/11 stop them. They knew the terrorist's goal was to grind America to a halt, and they resolved not to give the terrorists what they wanted.

That perseverance of Cassandra and her coworkers is one of the most moving stories I've ever heard. It taught me that even when others want to stop you from doing something good, to keep persevering.

I've never forgotten that lesson.