September 11 will forever be remembered in America. On that date in 2001, a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks took place in different parts of the United States.

The attack killed almost 3,000 people and injured another 6,000. It cost almost $10 billion in infrastructure and property damage. And put into motion the beginning of a war that has claimed thousands of lives and still hasn’t been resolved to this day.

Four passenger airlines were high jacked that day. Two crashed into both towers of the World Trade Center, one crashed into the Pentagon and the last was headed toward Washington D.C. when passengers tried taking the plane back from the hijackers when they crashed the plane in a field 20 minutes outside of D.C. The United States responded by starting the War on Terror.

For many people, including myself, who have loved ones in the military, the ensuing war would have a great effect on them. My dad is in the military and on two occasions during my childhood, he had to leave and go overseas for a year each time. I was around seven or eight one time and 14 or 15 the other. This had a real effect on my life. I like to think I was grown up at those times, but you never really comprehend that you won’t be seeing your loved one for a really long time. Missing birthdays, sporting events and other activities. Something we don’t often think about, but something we really should think about more is the effect this attack had on the innocent civilians in Afghanistan and the surrounding countries.

Thousands of innocent lives were lost on both sides of this conflict. It’s crazy to me that 9-11 was 17 years ago. Some of you reading this may have been too young to remember that day. Most high school seniors would have been one or not even born yet when it happened. I was six the day the attack occurred, and I remember exactly were I was when it happened. Most of my friends and people I know where in school that day. But I was sitting in my great grandma’s apartment getting ready to head to my great grandpas funeral. My whole extended family huddled around a small T.V. in the living room watching an attack on American soil. I couldn’t really grasp what was happening at the time, and still don’t fully grasp the feeling the older generations felt that day.

A strange time is occurring in the United States right now. We are more divided than we have ever been in my lifetime, and we can blame that on a lot of different factors. We should use this time to come together, but we shouldn’t come together in some false hate for another group of people. Come together with everyone and change this world for the better.