This Thursday marks the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Not being a milestone anniversary, will that day still be on the minds of U.S. citizens on Thursday, or have we, as a society, “moved on?”

After the events that occurred on Feb. 14, the NIU community is still grappling with our own personal tragedy. We acknowledge the need to remember what happened that day but still search for normalcy in our everyday lives.

In some fashion, we are indirectly connected to those who lost loved ones on Sept. 11.

They will surely be thinking about what happened seven years ago this Thursday as we will always remember Valentine’s Day differently.

Looking back seven years ago, we can see how our nation changed. At least some aspect of everyone’s life has altered since Sept. 11. And Americans still debate the decisions which altered their lives.

However, whether or not you agree with the changes made after Sept. 11 is less important than actually considering the ramifications of the event.

Americans should band together, if only for a few minutes, to consider the actions we have taken in the last seven years. Lives lost without remembrance is the largest tragedy of all.

There is no official way of remembering what happened. You might see a brief on the local news about the anniversary, but you probably won’t see any television specials like you did on the one-year anniversary.

Perhaps in our zeal to move on and heal wounds, we forget how to remember.

However, one thing you remember is where you were on Sept. 11, much like where you were on Feb. 14. Those events, wrapped with emotion, remain vivid in our memories.

Let’s show our condolences for those who lost someone on Sept. 11, 2001 and make sure to never forget what happened. Even if we have moved on, we should never stop moving forward.