I don’t remember 9/11. I was about to turn three years old.

Like me, roughly 120 million Americans – one-third of our country – reflect on a day we do not remember.

I’m grateful I grew up in a country that still tells this story and lives its promise to “Never Forget.”

Each year of my childhood, I’d watch Discovery and History channel documentaries about these horrifying events, joined with moments of silence at school and flags at half mast. 

I wasn’t only taught the devastatingly tragic and true details, but I was also taught the inspiring moments of hope, unity, and humanity that so quickly followed.

Many Americans my age, and younger, don’t feel a great sense of national unity or identity.

Once a year, we’d get the chance to watch our leaders, our communities, and our nation come together with respect and reverence to remember what was lost. To me, it was a cherished window I could look through each year to see the country I hoped for – united, strong, human.

I believe that country exists, and does not need to be bound to one reverent day.

I have been raised by a nation that has faithfully kept its promise and has not forgotten – a nation that raised me in gratitude and reverence for the sacrifices of our imperfect past.

Today, whether you are remembering or, like me, are merely reflecting, I pray we can embody the spirit of the American people this tragedy uncovered 25 years ago.

Hopefully, we can do that tomorrow too.