So I know that no one is going to want to read this cause it's my official 9/11 blog entry and it won't be a positive or happy entry. But here goes anyway.

I remember it all so clearly, its one of those things that never blurs out of focus. I don't I'll ever get that  image of planes crashing, buildings falling, and fire out of my head. I was a freshman in high school and that morning we were taking the final test on The Giver. A teacher came hurrying in and began talking to my english teacher, and finally my english teacher asked the class if it was alright to turn of the TV. She turned it on just in time to see the second plane hit. I remember thinking that it was impossible, that no one would dare attack the US on our turf. We were America, Land of the Free, we were invincible and impenetrable. I was so scared, and so freaked out. I spent the whole day trying to wake up from the nightmare and shaking. People all around me were leaving school to be with family, and there were tears and pale fear stricken faces. I kept thinking that maybe if I close my eyes and open them again it will go away. That it would never have happened.

This morning I woke up, put my clothes on and ate some breakfast, just like I do everyday. I brushed my teeth, pulled my hair up, and made sure my little brother was ready for school before getting in my Blazer to head out to face a new day. I turned on my radio and sang along to "Have You Forgotten" as I dropped J.C. off at Siegel Middle and dropped a letter off for my dad. And then as I headed towards campus I took a deep breath and sighed. I silenced my radio and held a private moment of silence for those lost, those fighting, the ones left to carry on. All the heros of that day and forward.

As I climbed out of my blazer, and I pulled out my things, I paused. The wind blew across the parking lot, and I bowed my head in prayer. I know I don't do it enough, but I try especially on days like today. I remembered 9/11 and those who died in New York, D.C., and in that Pennsylvania field. Sometimes I think that people forget. Maybe because it's too painful, and too ugly to remember. Maybe they hope that if they forget it will go away. But I know better. And I have not forgotten.