.9.11.

Well, friends.. it is now 11:26 PM on September 11th, 2010. 9 years ago something happened that will shake our history and our generation forever. September 11th, 2001 will be in my children's History textbooks and I will tell them about it... every year we will see footage of two American flights crashing into the Twin Towers in New York City. The day that shook America will be burned into my memory forever. I will remember walking into the my 8th grade History class and hearing students yelling in the hall that something bad was happening... and then going home to seeing those two planes crash into the towers over and over and over... I remember my History teacher telling us that we should not live in fear.. even though these acts were committed out of a dark anger and hate towards Americans, life would have to go on... we had to move forward. My teacher reminded us that heinous acts against our country have happened before and will continue to happen, but we still had to step out of our homes and continue living life... terrorists would want us to live in fear, but living in fear is not living at all. I know there is a lot of controversy swirling around that day of whether it could have been stopped or handled better, it still does not change the fact that it happened... it was significant and had purpose. So looking ahead to the years to come, we must always remember this part of our history, but try to gain something from it... maybe an appreciation for what we have, for the ones we love, for the freedom we love. I know for me, watching these documentaries today of everyday people... students from NYU watching the events occur... one minute those towers were there, one minute those people were breathing and the next, they were burned up in airplane fuel or crushed in debris.

Let's live as though tomorrow is not a promise and love as though our time is short. Don't wait to live out your dreams until it is too late... don't leave your loved ones with an unkind word.