09/11/2026
I know this day carries a different kind of weight for so many people.
For my generation, I think 9/11 was the first national tragedy we witnessed unfold in real time when we were old enough to understand that something terrible was happening, but maybe not yet old enough to fully comprehend what it meant.
I was a freshman in college, young, immature and completely unaware of how much that day would change our country and stay with us.
And yet, 25 years later, I can still remember that day so vividly. Where I was. What I was doing. How blue the sky was. Almost everyone my age can tell you the same.
What I also remember are the days that followed. People softened. Strangers were kinder to one another. We checked on each other. We came together. For a little while, the things that divided us didn’t seem nearly as important as the things that made us human.
So much has happened in our country since then, and every generation has experienced tragedies that have shaped them in ways they will never forget.
But today, I find myself thinking about that sense of togetherness we once had and wishing we could find more of it again.
Not because we have to agree on everything. We never will. But because somewhere along the way, disagreement started making it easier to forget the person on the other side.
My prayer today is that we remember what truly matters. That we lead with a little more grace, choose kindness a little more often, and remember that we are still neighbors.
May we never forget the lives lost, the families forever changed, the heroes who ran toward danger, and the day that changed all of us.
September 11, 2001. Never forgotten. 🇺🇸
