I remember it clearly. I was being home-schooled at the time, and I remember waking up around 8:15. After I had showered, and as I was getting dressed, I turned on the TV a few minutes before 9:00. As I was channel surfing, I stopped on The Today Show on NBC. It was weird, though, because they were showing a picture of one of the World Trade Center towers, with smoke coming out of it. So I sat down on my bed and watched, trying to figure out what was going on. Then, a few minutes later, a huge fireball erupted from the other tower. By now, I was in shock. I had no idea what was happening. As I kept listening, they said that two planes had flown into the Twin Towers. One could have just been a freak accident. But two planes.....now I knew something was up. Then I remember my mother running up the steps and watching it with me, and then I remember her calling my dad to tell him about it. We were all in shock then. I don't remember much about the next thirty minutes, but I remember around 9:45, I was finishing up my breakfast when the first tower collapsed. I was in a state of unbelief. Then, about half an hour later, as I was about to leave with my mother to pick my grandmother up from the hospital, I remember watching Peter Jennings on ABC News, when the second tower collapsed. I remember the piercing shock in his voice when the collapse took place. I turned the TV off.

When we arrived at the hospital, it was a different sight. People were silent, gathered together in rooms with televisions, stunned and almost horrified at what had happened. Everyone was in a sense of disbelief. But through the shock and horror of it all, it brought us together. It united us as one America. On that day, we didn't see blacks or whites.....we saw Americans. We didn't see rich men or poor men.....we saw Americans. We didn't see Christians or atheists.....we saw Americans. We didn't see Democrats, Republicans, or even Independents.....we saw Americans. Now if only we could have kept that outlook past that fateful day...

In memory of all who died on September 11, 2001.

Rest in peace.