In remembrance.

Ten years after the fall of the World Trade Center in New York City, our world has changed dramatically. On this day of rememberance, I know that the lessons on humanity and the importance of life are not lost. Today I am grateful for the many blessings that have been bestowed upon me, such as the true love of family.

Just over a decade ago I had returned to Michigan from a summer spent in New York City. In May and June of 2001 the streets I roamed were filled with life and a sense of confidence. I carried this confidence back to college that fall, believing that everything was right with the world and it was mine to conquer. After all, at just eighteen I had lived by myself in the biggest city in the country, where I didn't know a single person, and had returned unscathed. As I stood in horror in front of the Today show watching the second plane hit the south tower, I felt this false confidence began to crack.

I think we all questioned what was important in those early days of September 2001. I realized that it wasn't so important that I had conquered the big city, but that I had made it home to hug my parents again. I also realized that the lessons that I had learned in American History were just the foundation of a story still unfolding, and that our generation would be writing it's latest chapter.

Today as we take a minute to reflect on the lives lost and the lessons learned, I think that the country has a new sense of hope.  It can be seen in the faces of the children of 9/11 who are growing and doing great things despite their unimaginable loss.  The memorial ceremony at Ground Zero for the families this morning was moving beyond words.

In the last ten years the country has moved forward and evolved like only America does.  In the land of the free and the home of the brave, we remember the fallen and we honor those in service for our many freedoms.  May God continue to bless America, this land that I love.