Sept 11th, 2011

I can't believe it's been ten years since Sept. 11, 2001.

I remember the day well. I was living in Isla Vista, going to UCSB. I watched the towers fall on CNN with my roommates. One of my roommates struggled for hours to get a hold of his family in New York City. The restaurant I was working at decided to close for the day, as did many of my friends places of work. I called and talked to my family about it, and what they thought it meant for us, and for America in the bigger picture... I realized the world had changed. But only now, ten years later, am I beginning to see just how much the world had changed.

The world has continued to change ever more, ever faster every year since then. Back in Sept 11, 2001 we didn't even have Facebook or Twitter! Or even smart-phones. On Sept 11, 2011, ten years later, I have come to realize just how amazing and strong America is, and how brave and innovative it's people are. America isn't perfect, and has been a victim of it's success in many ways, but I believe it's America's amazing power for good, can heal it, heal it's people and the victims of horrible terrorism. I believe that America's amazing power for good can create a brighter day. A safer, more prosperous world requires work, compassion, creativity and awareness. It requires America to reach out to the world, and to look inside itself -- collectively and individually -- for the answers to our greatest problems. America can help create a better brighter future not just for Americans, but for the whole world as well.

America, being American, gives me -- and people from all over the world -- the opportunity to truly make the world a better place through innovation, creativity and collective awareness. For me, the lesson of Sept 11th is that we are truly one world, that America is not immune to the dangers in the outside world, and that in fact the world needs our help. The dangers and horror of Terrorism around the world must be combatted and healed with a deeper understanding of the human experience, with education and understanding of just how amazing and wonderful the world can be.

Sept 11th for me, is a day to think about this. It's a day to remember and honor those that lost their life, and to remember that the best way to honor that loss of life, is to learn from it. To make the world a better place because of it. We must rebuild, better and stronger, inside ourselves, in New York, in our whole country, and in the world at large.