"...when the world stopped turnin..."

September 11, 2001 will be a day that I will never forget. If you follow other bloggers, you know that everyone remembers and always will remember where they were when the first heard to news that our nation was under attack. I was in my 7th grade science class and can remember the principal coming to the door of our classroom and pulling my teacher outside to tell him the news. Our teacher then came back and had to look of horror on his face. He told us the news and our immediate reaction was to pray (I went to a Christian school for middle & high school). Initially I don't think we all understood or could comprehend exactly what had happened or the magnitude. I then went to my 4th period Geography class and can remember my teacher was missing. Her husband was in the military and I think she had already realized what was going to happen as a results of the day's events. We went to lunch as usual, where we heard all athletic events had been cancelled for that afternoon and that after lunch we were returning to home room where our parents could pick us up. My dad came and got me somehow got me to my mom (I can't remember exactly how this all played out). My mom and I were waiting in the carpool line at my brother's elementary school and I remember asking her, "Mom, what's gonna happen now?". She got this look on her face, and I can remember her exact words, "We're going to war". I think even at that age I couldn't grasp what exactly that meant. But we went home and just like everyone else around the world we were glued to the tv.

As I've gotten older watching footage from that horrendous day still gives me chills, as I'm sure it always will. As the years go by I've come to understand more that our freedom is not free, and I am so fortunate and blessed that I was born in the United States of America. I've also come to understand that some people have a severe hatred for this great nation and will do anything to see it brought to its knees. I hope this day will not just be seen as a day where we lost thousands of innocent lives, but one that showcased that no matter what attacks us, America will stand together and will do anything to defend this beautiful nation and its beliefs.

May we never forget