I was only the age of nine when the traumatic events took place on Sep. 11, 2001, but I “hopefully” believe anyone from my generation will truly never forget what happened on that awful day. For the past twelve years we have been living in an apprehensive post-9/11 world.

For many, it prompted the first American war of our lives. For others, it implanted a sense of fear in them that may never go away. For all of us, it taught us how to stand in unity as a country and show that we have not been defeated. September 11 surpassed cultural differences, geographic boundaries and political divides in a way almost nothing else could and brought together the proud citizens of the United States of America.

Our nation, country, states and even our own cities have taken major precaution ever since. Security levels have increased everywhere we go. When I’m at the airport, everything just seems so uptight and difficult compared to the ways it used to be pre-9/11. When traveling overseas I’ve seen people have such great difficulties getting through. People feel violated by the layers of security and the invasion of privacy from the screenings used by the TSA.

I’ve really never been the person to brag about “being an American,” or decorate myself with red, white and blue, but Sep. 11, 2001 really hit me. It was only eight days after my ninth birthday, and it was just the beginning of another day in third grade. I can remember my teacher leaving the room for a moment to talk to the other teachers, and with us being kids, we wanted to know what they were talking about. She came back into the room and tried to explain to us what was happening. I really didn’t understand until I got home from school and talked to my parents

I was in total shock. I knew all of my history lessons about wars and bombings, but planes hitting buildings in a well-known city not that far from mine was absolutely terrifying. I knew my childhood and my peers would forever be changed by what had occurred.

Twelve years after 9/11, our nation has moved on and is now focused on issues such as education, the budget and now the problems with Syria. But even though we now are facing new issues to deal with and new problems to solve, as Sep. 11 passes once more, we should not forget. We should stop to commemorate the victims, the response teams and the soldiers for their sacrifice. If we forget them, we would be accepting 9/11 as just something in the past. By working to remember, we can work to prevent something like this happening again. Only through honoring and remembering Sep.11 for the disaster it was can we continue to ensure that an attack like this never is carried out again.