Sixteen years have passed and yet that day will never fade from memory. And that goes for everyone who lived through the day that felt like the end of the world. While part of me wants to write endlessly about 9/11 recalling every detail and memory, the greater urge today has been to look back into the sky.

On September 11, 2001, I looked up into the clear blue September sky thinking how everything I knew had changed. A paralyzingly eerie feeling overwhelmed my entire body in this surreal gaze. And as a sophomore in high school, I was old enough to process what had happened. The tragedy of the day, with its heart-wrenching imagery, the heroism of the first responders and passengers on United 93 and the ever-lasting, sinking feeling that the world would never be the same will last forever.

The fact that my dad was almost in New York City, specifically the World Trade Center, on the morning of 9/11…Luckily, he got the last flight out of New York City back to Columbus on September 10th, completely unaware of what would happen just hours later.

RIP to all the victims and their families from the plane crashes in New York City, Washington, D.C. and the United 93 flight that heroically crashed in Pennsylvania.

Never forget and “let’s roll.”