A millennial’s reflection on 9/11, 15 years later

September 11, 2001 is a day that no American will ever forget. We will never forget where we were and what mundane tasks we were doing as the chilling news overtook them that almost 3,000 Americans had been murdered in a terrorist attack on our own soil. Everyone has their own story about that day.

This past Friday morning, I stood outside the U.S. House of Representatives, listening to the Speaker of the House and the Minority Leader give moving remarks during a commemoration of the 15th anniversary of September 11. After praying, the members of the House began singing “God Bless America.” Memories rushed back to mind of that awful day fifteen years ago that forever changed my beloved America.

I am still stunned at the fact that fifteen years have passed. Every detail of 9/11 is forever etched into my memory, and I distinctively remember that day as if it was yesterday. I was a 10 year old girl on vacation with my family in Disney World (I was homeschooled, so we always took our family vacations in September). Everything changed when my father received a phone call from a co-worker telling him to turn on the TV. We huddled around as we the planes crash into the World Trade Center There was speculation that the first plane was an accident, but once the second plane hit we all knew that we were under attack. Terror filled my heart and I knew our country would never be the same.

I’m not a little girl anymore; I’m a grown woman working for Congress in Washington D.C. Like most people in D.C., I moved up here to make a difference in the world. I want to spend my lives to ensure that my children grow up in a better world than I do. Every day as I walk past the Capitol and head into my office, I’m reminded that the U.S. Congress is a target for terrorists. It can be a little unnerving going into work, not knowing what that day will hold. Questions like “Will there be an active shooter?” or “Will I be safe today?” enter my mind quite frequently. But something I’ve reminded myself of every day since September 11 is that terror does not win.

Terror does not win. It did not win fifteen years ago and it will not win today. Americans are a nation of fighters — we fight for what is right, we fight for justice, and we fight for freedom. Something we don’t have to fight for it the memory of 9/11. It’s forever seared into our memories and onto our heart. We will never forget those that died, we will never forget the heroes that rushed into the buildings to save the lives of others, we will never forget the fact that evil does not win.