The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks happened over 18 years ago and memories are starting to fade. Younger generations did not witness this traumatic event.

I was two, almost three, when 9/11 took place. I don’t remember anything about the event except what my parents have told me.

On the May Term trip, during my first year of college, I went to New York City. We decided to visit the 9/11 memorial and museum. Walking through the memorial and museum made me realize how devastating this attack was. It’s one thing to see footage and it’s another to see the site.

Hundreds of names were engraved in the stone that squared off the ground zero site. Every one of those names had friends and family attached to them. People that would never see their loved ones again because of the events that took place on 9/11.

The museum had an even more emotional impact on me. They displayed news coverage, photos of the people that died and graphic photos. Everyone in the museum was silent, absorbing and mourning the events of 9/11.

One of the videos they displayed was about a 3-year-old girl that died in the building. Hearing her family talk about all the things she would never get to experience in life made me cry. This girl was about the same age I was during this event. I got to grow up while she died in a terrible terrorist attack.

Going to New York helped me realize what a big impact this event had on their community and how it still affects the United States today.

We shouldn’t ever forget the people that died in this tragedy or how the United States bonded over this event. Sept. 11, 2001 should forever be remembered.