I remember. 9/11.

Hard to believe it's been 10 years since the towers fell. Facebook and twitter are ablaze today with folks recounting where they were "when the world stopped turning, on that September day." So where were you? I had just returned from a weekend home despite my parent's wishes. I was incredibly homesick, if you can remember, and had chosen to fly home for a weekend even though my parents kept urging me to stick it out up in Memphis. I was eating breakfast in the smoking section of the RAT (because I was horribly sad and didn't want folks seeing my all upset in the main dining hall), I think cereal, and feeling low. And I heard people walking out of the RAT talking about how one of the towers had been hit. So I quickly dropped my dishes off and headed back to my dorm room where I turned on the TV and watched in shock and horror, as the two towers collapsed. I remember trying to call home and not being able to reach my folks for most of the day. I knew they were safe but I felt I needed to hear their voice.

I cannot remember if I ended up going to class that day or not but I feel like I did. And I remember going to a prayer service in the amphitheater later that day because I didn't really know what else to do. I had been on a plane less than 48 hours earlier flying back to Memphis. It seemed so surreal.

10 years. Thousands of lives lost. And yet hope remains. Hope for an end to the war, for a better tomorrow for us and for our children. Hope for an end of fear.