From the Ashes
Following 9/11, the region around those structures was damaged for a lengthy period of time. The devastation surrounding those sites was an excellent illustration of how people in New York City, the United States, and even the world at large felt after those terrible and tragic events.
But, not everything was destroyed from that location! This photograph of a tree, beaten but still alive, amid so much devastation and death, is one of my favorites. For the people who worked on the site, seeing that tree—which had withstood so much and continued to develop and flourish—must have been a tremendous source of inspiration. The city must have reminded New Yorkers that while they had been badly harmed, they would rise from the ashes, expand their branches, and flourish.