10 years ago

This picture was taken after I graduated high school while on my senior trip with my cousin, aunt, mother, and grandmother.  Little did I know then what a treasure this picture would become to me.

 10 years ago....It's amazing how in an instant you can go back and remember exactly where you were, what you were doing, what you felt.  As I watch it all happen again on TV and hear the stories, I still watch with my mouth covered by my hand in disbelief that it really happened.

I was a 20 year old junior at ACU.  I walked into my geography class and saw the towers smoking on the big screen.  I remember wondering what movie we were watching because there was no way this was real.  We soon knew what was going on and were dismissed.  I found several friends on the way to the campus center.  One being my very good friend, Matt Mullins.  :)  We all watched on the television screens in the campus center before heading to chapel.  I remember seeing the towers collapse along side my fellow students.  It was silent, but yet you could still hear the gasps of horror.  You could not take your eyes off of the screen.  We spent the day praying for the families who lost loved ones and for our country.

Our enemies have made the mistake that America’s enemies always make. They saw liberty and thought they saw weakness. And now, they see defeat.
- George W. Bush

As horrific as that day was, I can remember the way I felt on September 12th vividly.  I remember how proud I was to be an American, and how proud I was of our leaders.  To see our flag hanging took on an entire new meaning to me.  I can remember hearing story after story of our hero's saving lives and sacrificing their own.  I can remember how our country came together uniting as one.  We were a stronger than ever before.  September 11th, 2001 changed my life and I will never forget it. 

“Now, we have inscribed a new memory alongside those others. It’s a memory of tragedy and shock, of loss and mourning. But not only of loss and mourning. It’s also a memory of bravery and self-sacrifice, and the love that lays down its life for a friend–even a friend whose name it never knew. “--George W. Bush

God Bless America.