On the dreadful morning of September 11, 2001, the world watched in horror as two of the greatest American symbols, the World Trade Towers in New York City, toppled to the ground, and a symbol of American power in Washington, the Pentagon, lay smashed and burned. This year we mourn the eleventh anniversary of the tragedy that changed the landscape of New York and every American’s sense of security.

I was five-years-old when the planes hit the towers and I remember staring at the television confused by what was happening, and knowing that something was terribly wrong. I remember the teachers using words like “terrorists” and “war”; words that most five-year-old children don’t fully understand. There was a dark, gloomy feeling that fell across our school, and the entire United States, for months after 9/11. As the years passed, I have finally started to realize the devastation and legacy of this attack.

September 11th not only affected the victims and their loved ones, but it also left generations of people terrified. Americans were overwhelmed with the thought of going to war again and what that meant for the future of the United States.

As we remember this tragic date we should keep in mind the strength American citizens had as we pulled together as a community, and as a country, and prevailed at a time of heartbreak and hopelessness. Let us not forget the hundreds of heroes and heroines who put themselves at risk to save the lives of strangers.

Musician, actor, novelist, and philanthropist, Michael Nesmith, once said, “There are more honest people and more good people than there are thieves and bad people. It’s just always been that way.” That statement was definitely proven true, eleven years ago, on the morning of September 11 when a handful of terrorists sought to put fear and hatred in American hearts, but instead, thousands of Americans reacted with compassion and selflessness.