The day our world changed.

"This nation, founded on principles laid down by men whom God raised up, will never fail....I have faith in America; you and I must have faith in America, if we understand the teachings of the gospel of Jesus Christ."

- Harold B. Lee

Sitting in my cubicle on September 11th, the thirteenth anniversary of the the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I am flipping through an online gallery of pictures, images which are heavily embedded in my mind, and I have chills. I'm reaching for my jacket to stay warm, the chills run so deep. They just aren't going away. If anything, they're getting more and more intense with each picture and description.

In 2001, September 11th was a Tuesday. It was a day I was able to sleep in because I didn't have class until the afternoon. And didn't work until later that afternoon, if at all... I can't even remember. I remember walking through the hall of flags at school and passing by a few television screens that were continuously showing scenes of the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. It was dumbfounding. There was an eerie silence. People didn't know what to say.

Today, I spent the day in a 2nd grade classroom, reading with three girls who were born six years after the 9/11 attacks happened. They were born into a world already at war with itself. It's hard to imagine that they weren't even alive, that they didn't experience that day and the aftermath. They know nothing different than the way life is right now. Luckily for them, as young 2nd graders, they are largely shielded from the harsh realities of the conflicts going on around the world. But inevitably, not for long.
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