"I remember where I was on 9/11"

That’s one thing everyone will always remember. I don’t talk much about 9/11 because after I moved to the US everyone else had all these crazy stories, which make sense because they experienced that traumatic day in a much greater scale than I, who at the time lived in Brazil. But I want to take a moment to write and reflect about my experience on that day. I remember waking up to see all TV channels focused on what was happening in New York City, and sleepy 10-year old me couldn't really grasp the seriousness of the situation just yet. My mother, however, was distraught, frantically trying to call my father who was working in Boston. You see, when you’re from another country you don’t really care to learn a foreign country’s geography, and the United States for us was just one big thing, none of us realized that New York and Boston were far apart. Anyway, seeing my mother’s desperation I finally understood that something really bad was happening, and I turned my attention to the TV. Yep, it was bad, and scary, and unbelievable. I always saw the US as a huge and powerful giant, so seeing it attacked and so vulnerable made me truly confused and afraid. Then I started to worry about my dad, but he contacted us to assure he was alright and to explain that he was actually far from New York, and that gave my family some comfort. I kept watching the news throughout the day, and for the next few weeks that is all we talked about in school. Teachers kept telling us about the importance of peace, while the news kept talking about war and terrorism. It was a dark time, even for a little kid in South America. However, my experience with 9/11 is overshadowed by what I hear from my friends who were in the US at the time and who are the same age as me. I couldn't even try to comprehend what went through their young minds, seeing their country in full desperation, and watching so much death and destruction so close to them. Today is a day of remembrance and prayer, and that is why I wanted to write a post about it. No one will, nor should, ever forget September 11, 2001 and the lives that were lost that day. It’s been 12 years, and we all remember that day as vividly as if it were yesterday. I hope everyone takes a moment to remember the victims and say a prayer to the families who lost loved ones that tragic day, and God bless America.