Kira shows her phoenix marking as she keeps her vigil by Ground Zero in remembrance of those lost on 9-11-2001. Part of the 9/11 series done by  hashire

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I was in ninth grade when it happened. The day started like any other Tuesday. I didn't even know anything was happening until I went to Geometry class, where the teacher had the TV on. I thought the news was just about this massive fire at the World Trade Center until I saw the footage of the plane hitting the South Tower. At that point, it felt like I was in a movie, that the universe was playing some kind of trick on all of us. But it was no trick; the towers did fall, those people really did die.

My stepbrother was in DC at the time as a med student, but thankfully he was nowhere near the Pentagon when it was attacked. I can only think of the people who, by some circumstance, missed a plane or overslept or somehow were not among the nearly 3,000 souls taken that day. At the same time I think of those who heeded President Bush's words to keep moving with our lives, to give money or blood for those in great need, to not let our country be cowed by the cowards who did this to us.

I know from experience that it can take 10 years or more to grieve a loss, especially a loss so great as this one, but having seen how resilient we are as a people and as a nation I believe we can make it.

We will remember. We will recover. We will rise again.