Remembering 9/11.

10 years ago today the world changed.

I remember that day like it was yesterday. As do most Americans. September 11, 2001.

I was 15 and my mom was driving me to school when we heard on the radio that the World Trade Center had been attacked. Normally my dad watched the news before leaving for work each morning, but for some reason decided not to turn on the television that morning. As a native Southern Californian who had never been to New York, I wasn't aware of the magnitude of what the attacks meant at that point.

I had just started at a new high school as a sophomore and didn't really know anybody yet. Everybody was talking about the planes hitting the towers, but no one really knew what was going on. Every time a plane flew overhead, we wondered if Los Angeles would be next. It wasn't until I reached my Chemistry class that my teacher finally turned on the tv to let us watch the news. We watched the aftermath at the Pentagon for about 10 minutes, then turned it off. Still unaware that the World Trade Center had collapsed. That a fourth plane had crashed in Pennsylvania.

I didn't get home until 8pm that night. After school I had a volleyball game that lasted through the evening. When I finally got home I sat in front of the tv in disbelief of what I was seeing. The planes crashing, the towers falling. Devastation. My dad had colleagues on the 104th floor of the South Tower. Some didn't make it out.

We were all affected by that day. And we will always remember.

I've been to New York City twice since that day. And I visited Ground Zero both times. You could feel the silence and disbelief among the visitors there still, yet you could feel the hope. As we reflect on how life has changed over the past 10 years, as we honor the fallen and those still fighting, we must maintain our hope.