Fifteen years. This year marks the fifteenth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon. At times it's hard to believe that it's already been this long when you can remember what happened that day. Remember where you were sitting, what you were working on or what you were doing when you heard the news. News that you didn't want to believe because at that time, it was unthinkable that something like that could happen to the USA and her people. It's one of those days that no matter how hard you try, you'll never forget.
And we shouldn't forget. We should never forget the bravery that came out of the day. How as a country we banded together as one. We should never forget the lives lost on this day. By forgetting, we let them win. We let them know that it wasn't a big deal, that we can move on.
Yes, we can move on but we do so with what they did in the back of our minds. We rebuilt. We came back stronger. We didn't let them win. All because we haven't forgotten what they did to our homeland on that fateful morning.
Today is a day of remembrance. We remember all the mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters and brothers who didn't make it out of the towers in time. We remember all the first responders who rushed to the site to help in any way possible (including those from across the country who came out to help).
We remember Flight 93 and the brave men and women who took down their own flight knowing what it would result in to save many more lives.
To remember how it felt when we sat watching our world changing before our eyes. Most of us (school aged) children innocent to the evils of the world and seeing first hand what hate can do to people.
Many life lessons were learned on that fateful day. The main one I learned was that life's too short. Life's too short for many things like regrets, to put off what you want to do. You never know what tomorrow holds. Life can change in an instant. So make sure you're living the life you want, the life you can be proud of.
On the 15th anniversary, take a moment to put down the phone, close the laptop and take a moment to remember all those who lost their lives, all the ones still fighting for lives and the ones who were left behind.
May we never forget how it felt that day.
