September 11, 2001, is one of the most memorable days for some of us. For others, it may be the most traumatizing event that we do not wish to remember. Our loved ones, friends, family, co-workers, police officers, firefighters, soldiers and people of the like have died, been injured and risked their lives saving others while in these terrorist attacks. Whether it was at The Pentagon, World Trade Center, in school, at home or at work, everyone was affected in some way or another.

I was already a few days into Kindergarten on 9/11. During this time, I was living in Queens, New York, and both of my parents were working in Manhattan. My classmates and I just said our Pledge of Allegiance and morning prayers so we were sitting in a circle on the play rug of the classroom, listening to our teacher read us a story. During story time, however, the loudspeaker suddenly interrupted and the principal spoke. She announced that the World Trade Center and The Pentagon were attacked, and to collect our belongings before heading to the gymnasium for early dismissal where we were to wait for someone to pick us up from school.

The morning had passed, and I was one of the very few students left in the gymnasium. I was in extreme panic because I had no idea if my family was safe; they were so far away from me since I was in a completely different borough from them. I remember clutching my jumper while holding the stuffed animal dog I would carry around everywhere in my Barbie backpack, listening to police cars' sirens speeding every which way and crowds of people in the streets listening to their radios. To pass the time, I pulled out some Crayons and began to draw to calm myself down and help me to stay strong, hopeful that someone would come and get me soon. My strength did not last long though because I soon enough busted out into tears and began to hyperventilate.

When I was younger, I had difficulty controlling my hyperventilating whenever I would cry that I had to carry a paper bag with me in my backpack everywhere just in case. Unfortunately, I began to hyperventilate terribly; this was one of the worst I had ever experienced and I had to be taken to the nurse's office to help cool off.

This was not making me feel better in the situation whatsoever. My teacher escorted me over and although she was very calm and collected, I could see her eyes watering up. I realized this was affecting all of us more than I thought it would. I was lucky enough to befriend an eigth grader in the nurse's office who received a bloody nose. She stroked my head and struggled to smile when she said, "It's going to be alright. Your parents will be here soon and you will get to go home."

Noon passed and she distracted me with games and coloring; the girl's mother finally came to pick her up. "Cheer up, pretty girl. Smile for me!" She waved goodbye and I was beaming until I saw it wasn't either of my parents that came to pick me up but instead was my aunt.

I latched onto my aunt's hand tight as we walked a few blocks to the corner of the street to find John's Pizzeria on Grand Avenue. Besides spaghetti, pizza was the only other food then you could get me to eat when I wasn't feeling well, so I was fortunate my aunt knew exactly how to help me feel better.

We reached her apartment as we waited for her daughters to return from school and her husband to come back home; he was also working near the World Trade Center and back then, having a cell phone was not too common to be in immediate contact with everyone so who knew when or if he would ever come home.

I continued watching the news broadcast on the television to stay informed if anything new were to come up as I was praying for everyone to come home safely. I wished my brother was there to comfort me.

It was 6:00 p.m. and my aunt's husband and children were home, and my father was finally able to call. My father worked at the United Nations at the time, and there was an apparent bomb placed in the garage of the main headquarters, which thankfully did not go off and everyone was evacuated, but the news had me trembling for my parents' lives.

After my father confirmed he was OK, he told me that my mother would meet up with us later soon after he picks me up since many to all trains were not running and Manhattan was a complete mess. She would stay with my uncle until everything cleared up; both my parents were safe and that was all that had mattered.

Later that night, however, we heard my other aunt was caught up in the dust and debris that blew everywhere near the World Trade Center as she was running out of her office nearby. Thankfully, she is currently in perfect condition now but for that week she had to drink fluids constantly and stay at home. By the next day we heard everyone else we knew that was in the area was safe and well with their loved ones.

That week at home with my parents we tried to get in contact with my brother who was in the Navy at the time to check up on his status, making sure no attacks had occurred near him while at sea; however, the Internet was too slow for him to receive our emails and there was no way to call when he was on a ship so we had to develop an immense amount of patience for a response. We were lucky to have received an email back from him in five days and everyone was finally at ease.

After that school year was over, my family and I moved out of the city into the suburbs where we lived next to a reservoir that happened to supply water to all of New York City. This reservoir had the potential for a terrorist attack. When I started at my new elementary school, I heard about all of my classmates' and their families' experiences of 9/11 and how they had to evacuate to the public school in case the reservoir was to be targeted for an attack.

Having to live so much closer to the scene in the city before did not make me realize how much it affected people outside of it, especially in this very town. I began to realize this tragedy affected everyone in the world and not just in the prime location of New York City or The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia.

Throughout the years, I met more students that shared different memories of 9/11 as well as was able to grow up next to a park that built a memorial for all the fallen heroes and family members. My school would bring everyone to attend a prayer service each year there, which is what I liked most because the community was brought together for the same cause where everyone can join together and empathize without any distractions or violence to be in the way.

This delicate memory is remembered by many people. It makes me sad that some people are not able to see their loved ones again, but I still mourn with those who have lost someone. David Levithan once said, "What separates us from the animals, what separates us from the chaos, is our ability to mourn people we've never met."

I am thankful that my family and those close to me were safe that day. I am thankful for those who risked their lives to save and help others. And finally, I am thankful that although there is evil in the world, God is good and He will continue to be there to protect us and our families. He is the fire in our hearts that won't ever burn out when we need somebody to lean on.

Since 9/11, I have promised myself to make sure to never leave the house or anywhere with anyone on a bad note and without saying a proper farewell like an "I love you" or "See you again soon" because I don't know if that will be the last time I will ever see that person again. It is scary to think about, but God forbid another day like this comes again, I don't want to regret anything I last said to anyone. I want them to know how much I care for them and how dear they are to me in my heart.

Please remember the fallen heroes and all the lives lost this September 11th.

“Ten years have passed since a perfect blue sky morning turned into the blackest of nights. Since then we’ve lived in sunshine and in shadow, and although we can never unsee what happened here, we can also see that children who lost their parents have grown into young adults, grandchildren have been born and good works and public service have taken root to honor those we loved and lost.” – New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (2011)