My, how 10 years have gone by. It’s hard to believe that it has been so long, yet it went so quickly. Before we know it, we’ll be another decade along. And while we will never forget 9/11 and the effects of terrorism have forever changed the course of history here in the US, the world must go on and so too, will we.

It’s so strange to look back. I feel like the 15-year-old sitting in math class that morning has nearly become someone else entirely. I even moved clear across the country in the year following 9/11. For the first three years of coming to California, the horror and memories of the footage we saw that day were fresh. Each anniversary, I’d show up to class dressed so patriotically it was silly. Those years I yearned for my old life in New York state and still identified as a New Yorker. I wanted to represent all who I knew were affected by the tragedy and show that I hadn’t forgotten, either.

As time went on, my identity as a Californian, an Angeleno, solidified and the thoughts of what happened in New York got filed away into my memory banks. Anniversaries were easier to handle and I didn’t always cry on the day anymore. This year I spent a quiet day with loved ones and since I don’t have a TV, have no idea what kind of coverage there was. I hope there was a lot though.

I’ll never forget the confusion our class felt as we heard the news, nor will I forget the look on my teacher’s face when she was told. It took us awhile of sitting around talking amongst ourselves to fully grasp the situation. When the school decided to let us go home for the day (which was only half through), I went home to sit in front of the TV with goosebumps as I watched again and again the terrible images.

I hope that we’ve learned enough as a country to prevent this kind of thing from happening again. I’m glad that we were able to get to Osama before today, for that can at least close one chapter of this saga. However, there is still so much to do and I hope we pull out of our struggles victorious and humbled.