The morning of 9/11 I remember standing in the kitchen in my pj's. I answered the phone when Uncle Mike called and said that "we were under attack." I can still remember the feeling of total disbelief and the following sickness I felt in my stomach. I also felt a little panic because I didn't know what else was in store for our nation...or worse yet, my family. I quickly passed the word along to everyone one else at home. For hours, days, weeks and months afterwords my eyes were glued to the TV and so was everyone around me. It was all that anyone could talk about. The attacks were so surreal then and when I watch a video of it now I feel the same way. Living through 9/11 truly impacted my life in a negative and positive way. For once I felt that our country was unsafe on a very wide scale. Our freedom is something to cherish. The attacks showed me on a personal level that even Americans are not immune to the world's evil. While it was a very unsettling time in my life, it was also a time of coming to the realization of just how many good people are still out there. With the attacks also came such humanity...so much compassion, empathy and a giving on oneself for the sake of another. It is times like this that make me so proud to be an American.
