Remember

September 11, 2001 I was 17 years old. I woke up early that morning and was listening the radio as I got ready for school. At that time I always would wake up to the Z Morning Zoo. I had broken my finger and had pins and a splint. I was finding it very difficult to do my hair. When I heard that the first plane had hit the World Trade Center, like many others I thought it was a horrible accident. Plane trouble most likely. My mom took me to school and I mentioned that a plane had hit some big building in New York. When I got to school everyone was quiet. We were sent to homeroom to watch the news. This was a lot bigger than I thought. It was there in my Wilderness Survival class that I watched the second plane hit followed by the crumbling of everyone's hope. People were excused to go home or to gather at the seminary building. In seminary we had an "open mic" where we could emotionally explode. Looking back I don't think I really got it. I didn't have the life experience to really appreciate it. The loss that we had as a nation. The millions of people who lost their loved ones. The heros who went into the flames head first to save strangers. Thank You so much for your sacrifice and love.

10 years later I find myself a mother to an incredible Arab American son. His future holds countless possible instances of prejudice, hate, and fear. Please do not assume that terror coincides with race. Look out for each other and always approach others with love and acceptance.