Remembering significant events/why I remember some things and not others

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There's a question "where were you when..." and finish it with whatever significant historical event that happened in your time some people get multiple. For me, it was 9/11. Most of us weren't doing something amazing when we heard the news. I think the point is when something bad happens whatever you were doing no matter how mundane you're going to remember. It can be something you've done thousands of times but that day will always stand out. You'll remember tiny details you wouldn't otherwise remember. I remember who I was with and it isn't even someone I talk to anymore. I remember all of these tiny things like being the first ones in the room. I remember everything surrounding that day in details I wouldn't normally remember. Certain things have faded but I remember a teacher telling us we couldn't watch the news in his class because that's probably all we did all day. I remember the way people came together in a way we haven't come together before or since. I remember the eery silence of having no air traffic. I remember the fear and panic of those around me who were confused and scared because they didn't know what it would mean. It's odd how well I remember some of it. I had this numb feeling for a bit. I imagine the JFK assassination might be slightly different in feeling as it didn't kill as many people but did kill one important person and I imagine that everyone still remembers what they were doing in the moment they found out. The first major school shooting I remember is Columbine. It wasn't the first school shooting just the first one covered by the news in the way that it was I think. I also remember that being the first time schools started to take school shootings more seriously. Things changed gradually after that starting with lockdown drills that were basically a joke because no one took them seriously but now all of our schools have heavily locked doors where people can only get in if they are buzzed in. My son was taught what to do in the event of a shooter and he was told to throw things at them if need be. He told me this when he was in first grade. Six and seven-year-olds having to know how to protect themselves from shooters is scary. Anyway, I digress, I don't know why I don't remember Columbine with perfect clarity. I just remember around the timeframe even though I'm not sure how I know. Everything surrounding it is sort of vague in my memory. I remember it but don't at the same time if that makes sense? I was 12 and in sixth grade. Maybe I remember it because I remember the first lockdown in seventh grade but I also have some weird vague memory about talking about it with friends shortly after it happened but I couldn't tell you who. It's weird how it's not seared in my memory like 9/11. It was still a pretty huge deal but it's not remembered like something that happened to the president or an attack on our country. Now I feel like mass shootings happen so frequently people are starting to become numb to them but back then it was new territory. That was the first time most of us realized how easily someone could come in and shoot and kill us for no other reason than because they wanted to. It was a scary realization and suddenly parents and children both had a new fear but eventually, people started to forget until the next one would happen. Now a lot of people will mourn for about a week because the following week there will be a new one. It's scary but a reality for a lot of us. I find it odd how easily I can often forget a lot of the mass shootings because I promise those who went through it or lost a loved one to one will never forget. I remember more significant ones like Columbine and the two elementary schools since the kids were so young and I remember the one that happened in a high school in Florida I believe that one was Parkland but for whatever reason, most of them typically don't stick in my memory the way other things do maybe because they do happen so frequently now. I'm more likely to remember the ones that happen in schools than stores and things. Our memories are amazing in how we remember significant events and what our brains see as something significant. I'll never understand why I have vague memories from two or three that don't make any sense but can't remember more of Columbine. I don't understand how my brain categorizes what's important and what isn't.