15 years ago today, 2,996 lives where lost on September 11, 2001. More than 6,000 people were injured.

It has been 15 years since our nation experienced the deadliest terrorist attacks in our nation’s history. On that day people risked their lives for the life of another. People stood up to terrorism at the cost of their own life. People were selfless, generous, and kind. It is a day that changed the life of thousands.

Today, people will gather at the 9/11 memorial to remember those who were lost. Their names will be read allowed followed by a moment of silence. People will come and talk about how strong our nation is and how far we have come in those 15 years. But I will be asking myself, “how far have we truly come in those 15 years?” Terrorism is still part of people's daily lives. People are still being murdered in the name of God. People are still killing others because they do not act or look like us. I know that the answer is far too complex for me or one person to answer. But I do believe that it can be answered by our nation coming to together to combat terrorism. This can be achieved through the education of 9/11 and the understanding of different religions and willingness to accept people of all different identities.

My generation is the last generation that can really remember what happened that day and can understand the magnitude it had on our nation and our loved ones. The generations after us will be learning about 9/11 as a moment in history rather than a moment of reality. I can remember that first time we talked about 9/11 in my high school American history class and we did not spend more that one day on it, while we would spend weeks learning about World War II. This angers me. Does 9/11 deserve two weeks of instruction? I want my children to know that people risked their life to save another’s. I want my children to understand that our nation came together for one another. I want people to not just think about what happened on September 11, 2001, at 8:48 a.m. only on that day but to think about it every day.

I am 20 years old now. I remember that day. My family was affected by that day. I watched on the TV with my brother and mother as people were jumping from the buildings because they did not know what else to do. I watched my mother wait to hear back from my father because he, like so many others, were in the subway at the World Trade Center on their way to work. It is a day that has had a lasting impact on my father. It is a day that I have never really asked him about. But when I do, he always says, “you cannot stop living your life because you are scared something might happen, because when you do that is when terrorism wins.”