tragedies happening everyday you see
them on the news and movies books TVs
and even in our own lives after a
tragedy it seems almost impossible to
pick back up and go on with life now you
might be wondering what a 15 year old
knows about tragedy you see I’ve had a
pretty good life so far with family and
friends I have a good education a roof
over my head and I’ve never been hungry
a day in my life but like so many others
September 11th has had a profound impact
on my life for me it was the day I lost
my father Jeremy Glick he was on flight
93 and was one of the 40 passengers who
spun to terrorists and tried to take
back the plane unfortunately the plane
crashed in a field in Pennsylvania and
all lives were lost after a tragedy you
might see some short-term changes you
might feel like there’s a pain in your
chest now this is called broken heart
syndrome because the symptoms are very
close to a heart attack but scientists
aren’t really sure why it happens yet
the first step right after a trauma is
just to breathe you don’t want to start
to hyperventilate because that’s just
gonna make things worse after a tragedy
you might kill some long-term effects
too you might find yourself even going
through the stages of grief now you see
I was only three months old when my dad
died so I don’t really remember it you
see I did it I knew that I didn’t have a
dad that was obvious to me but I didn’t
know who he was or what he did but as I
got older and older and learned more and
more I started to go through the stages
of grief in my own way starting with
denial I remember just being generally
confused my family and I would go and
visit his grave and I just I couldn’t
understand how a person was here but
isn’t here anymore
I couldn’t understand the idea of death
but it’s a pretty hard thing to explain
to a three-year-old next I started to go
through some anger you see I just was so
mad how could these people do such
terrible things to such innocent lives
my dad was just 31 on September 11th and
that can get a giant daily
not to mention a three-month-old baby
who was basically just born we just
wanted to spend time and get to know I
just was so mad how could they take him
away from me but I got older and my mom
explained to me that we have to run on
love and not hate we have to forgive
just as my dad would have wanted
next I began is borrowing you see my dad
was supposed to fly out on September 10
but because of a fire in the airport he
had to reschedule to the next day I just
kept thinking what if you’d been on the
right flight would he still be alive
today my family explained to me that
Glick means luck in Yiddish and I
laughed at this saying how lucky could
he have been to be on that flight but my
family believes that it was fate so many
lives were lost that day but even though
his life was lost he held to save so
many Morris plane was heading to an
important building in Washington DC as a
fourth grader my whole class sort of
research paper on our hero and of course
I picked my dad you see I was a little
different from everyone else because
everyone else was going through
textbooks and websites to learn about
someone they didn’t even know I was
using the same resources to learn about
someone who I should have known but
didn’t get to it’s a weird thing to
learn about someone who should have told
you their story from their own mouth but
you learn it from websites and papers
and other people’s it’s a really sad
thing to do and finally they don’t let
into acceptance I’m 15 now and I’m still
trying to figure acceptance out to put
it simply I miss him I wish I could have
gotten the opportunity to got to know
him I wish we could go skiing together
which we both love I wish we could laugh
over chocolate milkshakes I I wish I
could see my shows and my dance recitals
I oh she could see me speak bright hat
but my family’s in his last moments he
said to them you have to be happy for me
and for Emmy
so we honor these words we live our
lives every day
hesitation I mean choose to integrate
him in little ways like when I get
really mad at my parents like that’s the
exact same base don’t you dare make that
face because I’ve seen that face a
hundred times before or if I order a
chocolate milkshake they say of course
you would because that’s always quick
you ordered after a tragedy you have to
find a way to cope you might want to
just bundle it all up inside but it’s
not really good coping strategy instead
it’s a good idea to talk to people maybe
some more even in the same situation as
you my family met with other families of
flight 93 on September 11th which really
helped because it’s kind of comforting
to know someone’s going through the same
thing as you another thing is just to
get into a daily routine eventually my
mom went back to work and she devoted
all the time to taking care of me and
I’m two pots we were our own little sort
of family another thing is to find
something that you love and for my
family that’s running my family loves it
so much that 2/3 of my aunt’s and my mom
ran the New York City Marathon in his
honor another thing is to celebrate and
honor you see my answer to Germany’s
Heroes a foundation that brings
community in sports to inner-city
schools my dad loves sports and we just
want to share his passion with as many
people as we can every year September
11th rolls around and we get constant
reminder of what happened instead of
just putting us putting it behind us
which may have been easier
we don’t instead me me where he’s buried
and instead of just crying and grieving
about his life we smile and we celebrate
we go to one of his favorite restaurants
and we all order chocolate milkshakes
because as you know that’s what he loved
the kids play time on the field outside
and fishing in nearby pond instead of
just crying we look back on his whole
life not just his final moments because
that’s not what made him in person
his final moments don’t just define him
but his whole life did tragedies are
inevitable but it is up to us and how
they save us and what they make us
become as I take my path
I bring my dad with me wherever I go
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
them on the news and movies books TVs
and even in our own lives after a
tragedy it seems almost impossible to
pick back up and go on with life now you
might be wondering what a 15 year old
knows about tragedy you see I’ve had a
pretty good life so far with family and
friends I have a good education a roof
over my head and I’ve never been hungry
a day in my life but like so many others
September 11th has had a profound impact
on my life for me it was the day I lost
my father Jeremy Glick he was on flight
93 and was one of the 40 passengers who
spun to terrorists and tried to take
back the plane unfortunately the plane
crashed in a field in Pennsylvania and
all lives were lost after a tragedy you
might see some short-term changes you
might feel like there’s a pain in your
chest now this is called broken heart
syndrome because the symptoms are very
close to a heart attack but scientists
aren’t really sure why it happens yet
the first step right after a trauma is
just to breathe you don’t want to start
to hyperventilate because that’s just
gonna make things worse after a tragedy
you might kill some long-term effects
too you might find yourself even going
through the stages of grief now you see
I was only three months old when my dad
died so I don’t really remember it you
see I did it I knew that I didn’t have a
dad that was obvious to me but I didn’t
know who he was or what he did but as I
got older and older and learned more and
more I started to go through the stages
of grief in my own way starting with
denial I remember just being generally
confused my family and I would go and
visit his grave and I just I couldn’t
understand how a person was here but
isn’t here anymore
I couldn’t understand the idea of death
but it’s a pretty hard thing to explain
to a three-year-old next I started to go
through some anger you see I just was so
mad how could these people do such
terrible things to such innocent lives
my dad was just 31 on September 11th and
that can get a giant daily
not to mention a three-month-old baby
who was basically just born we just
wanted to spend time and get to know I
just was so mad how could they take him
away from me but I got older and my mom
explained to me that we have to run on
love and not hate we have to forgive
just as my dad would have wanted
next I began is borrowing you see my dad
was supposed to fly out on September 10
but because of a fire in the airport he
had to reschedule to the next day I just
kept thinking what if you’d been on the
right flight would he still be alive
today my family explained to me that
Glick means luck in Yiddish and I
laughed at this saying how lucky could
he have been to be on that flight but my
family believes that it was fate so many
lives were lost that day but even though
his life was lost he held to save so
many Morris plane was heading to an
important building in Washington DC as a
fourth grader my whole class sort of
research paper on our hero and of course
I picked my dad you see I was a little
different from everyone else because
everyone else was going through
textbooks and websites to learn about
someone they didn’t even know I was
using the same resources to learn about
someone who I should have known but
didn’t get to it’s a weird thing to
learn about someone who should have told
you their story from their own mouth but
you learn it from websites and papers
and other people’s it’s a really sad
thing to do and finally they don’t let
into acceptance I’m 15 now and I’m still
trying to figure acceptance out to put
it simply I miss him I wish I could have
gotten the opportunity to got to know
him I wish we could go skiing together
which we both love I wish we could laugh
over chocolate milkshakes I I wish I
could see my shows and my dance recitals
I oh she could see me speak bright hat
but my family’s in his last moments he
said to them you have to be happy for me
and for Emmy
so we honor these words we live our
lives every day
hesitation I mean choose to integrate
him in little ways like when I get
really mad at my parents like that’s the
exact same base don’t you dare make that
face because I’ve seen that face a
hundred times before or if I order a
chocolate milkshake they say of course
you would because that’s always quick
you ordered after a tragedy you have to
find a way to cope you might want to
just bundle it all up inside but it’s
not really good coping strategy instead
it’s a good idea to talk to people maybe
some more even in the same situation as
you my family met with other families of
flight 93 on September 11th which really
helped because it’s kind of comforting
to know someone’s going through the same
thing as you another thing is just to
get into a daily routine eventually my
mom went back to work and she devoted
all the time to taking care of me and
I’m two pots we were our own little sort
of family another thing is to find
something that you love and for my
family that’s running my family loves it
so much that 2/3 of my aunt’s and my mom
ran the New York City Marathon in his
honor another thing is to celebrate and
honor you see my answer to Germany’s
Heroes a foundation that brings
community in sports to inner-city
schools my dad loves sports and we just
want to share his passion with as many
people as we can every year September
11th rolls around and we get constant
reminder of what happened instead of
just putting us putting it behind us
which may have been easier
we don’t instead me me where he’s buried
and instead of just crying and grieving
about his life we smile and we celebrate
we go to one of his favorite restaurants
and we all order chocolate milkshakes
because as you know that’s what he loved
the kids play time on the field outside
and fishing in nearby pond instead of
just crying we look back on his whole
life not just his final moments because
that’s not what made him in person
his final moments don’t just define him
but his whole life did tragedies are
inevitable but it is up to us and how
they save us and what they make us
become as I take my path
I bring my dad with me wherever I go
[Applause]
[Music]
[Applause]
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