UNDERSTANDING THE FIGHT: TCCHS Cross Country team members (Braxton White stands second-to-last on the far right) pose for a photograph during this year’s run from Thomasville Fire Department to the Jackets’ Nest stadium for the annual 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb.

9/11. I knew the term, but as someone not even alive in 2001, its full meaning did not register until I took part in the local 9/11 Memorial Stair Climb.

Every year, community members are invited to come out to the Jackets’ Nest stadium to climb stairs in remembrance of the firefighters and first responders who died attempting to save others from the disaster. Event coordinators contacted our Thomas County Central High School Cross Country team last year and invited us to join them in the ceremonial running of the flag. Our local firefighters suit up in full gear and run the American flag from the downtown Thomasville Fire Department to the stadium, a two-mile stretch.

Last year, the TCCHS team helped run the flag, but this year, we got together with the cross country teams from Thomasville City and Brookwood schools to run behind the flag. It was significant that we ran alongside Thomasville and Brookwood because, normally, we are competitors, fighting against each other for first place. But that day, we were united under a common cause just as the nation and world came together on 9/11.

As we ran down Jackson Street, drivers would see us running with the flags and encourage us through honking and cheering. The public’s response to us reaffirmed my reason for participating and gave me hope for our nation’s future. It showed me unity among Americans that I had never truly seen before.

Once we reached the stadium, I was told that 11 laps around the zig-zagged bleacher stairs was roughly equal to one trip up one of the World Trade Center towers. As we climbed the stairs, footage of the attacks played on the scoreboard, along with recordings of workers’ last phone calls and speeches President Bush gave shortly after the attacks. When I felt tired, I would think about the voices I heard and put names to those voices. Recalling what I had learned about the people who lost their lives in the attacks, especially those first responders whose voices we heard, I felt like I was right there with them, climbing up the towers’ stairs.

The first year I participated in the stair climb, I went into it not really understanding the significance of 9/11. I knew it was a terrorist attack, and I knew lots of people died, but I didn’t understand the emotional impact it had on people around the world. As I completed my first climb, what this day meant and why this event existed hit me. Then, my perception completely changed. This year, I watched teammates who participated for the first time go through the same experience that I did. At first, they didn’t know what to expect, but once they made it to the stadium and listened to the recordings playing through the scoreboard, I saw the somber looks on their faces as the meaning hit them, too.

Like many of my peers, I wasn’t directly affected by the attacks on 9/11; however, I understand their significance and how we have all been affected by the aftermath of the war on terrorism. Events like the stair climb honor those lost that day and remind us what truly matters in life. Most importantly, it unites us as humans.