I vividly remember this day as a young child. My father served in the military and the events on this day completely changed my life. I was rushed home from school to kiss my father goodbye as he packed his bags for an emergency deployment. Being only 11 years old, I didn’t totally grasp what was happening other than daddy was leaving for work again.

 He was gone for a total of 15 months. Missing birthdays, graduations, and many special memories. We communicated regularly through emails, and recieved rare phone calls. It was really hard for me to truely understand what he was suffering because of another person’s wrong doing. He tried his best to console me and my family always reassuring us not to worry and that he was “doing fine.”

Although it was a very difficult time, my relationship with my father grew tremendously. All we had was communication, and that made our relationship become more intimate and personal. I learned and grew a lot, through out the duration of his deployment. I hated it at the time, but today I feel like it molded me into a better daughter, sister, and person all around.

I’m sure every one’s memories of 9/11 aren’t as humbling and comfortable as mine but, I hope everyone takes time out of their day to remember the tragic events and the people who lost their lives on this chilling day in American history.