September 11, 2001, 8:46 AM. A time engraved in the minds of Americans everywhere, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, or religion. Mohammad Atta, a man blinded by glory, took the lives of almost 3,000 people and wounded over 6,000, again, regardless of  race, gender, ethnicity, or religion. What mattered was that those people called themselves American. 15 years ago, America’s darkest hour took place and this nation can feel the repercussions today.

May 2, 2011, 1:00 PM. The death of Osama Bin Laden, leader of the terrorist group known as Al-Qaeda who took credit for the events of 9/11, was confirmed by the United States government. His death supposedly ended the war on terrorism. For 10 years, the US had been searching for this man to deliver justice for those 3,000 citizens who did not get to say goodbye to their families. For those 3,000 who did not know that day would be their last.  For those 3,000 who died among strangers, united, under a single flag. And for those 300 million who suffered and cried for those 3,000 innocent Americans.

September 10, 2016, 11:30 AM. I had just woken up to write this story to honor those who lost their lives, my mind focused on the negativity that encapsulates this day in history. Although Al-Qaeda died with Bin Laden, terrorism against this country has not. 9/11 showed the world that like every other country, the US bleeds. This nation has been threatened and challenged by terrorist groups from the Afghan Taliban to ISIS.

While conducting interviews for this article, I spoke with those who could remember exactly where they were during the 9/11 attacks. “I was watching TV at home when the broadcast cut out,” Naznin Hasan, my mother, said. “At the time I was with you when you were still a baby and I remember the horror of the event. I called  your father and told him the news. The entire country was in shock.” My mother spoke on her perspective of that day, which took place from my childhood home on the opposite side of the world in Bangladesh.

Speaking with staff members at Cypress Ranch High School, teachers shared their unique ideas of how this tragic event affected their lives then and now.

“I was a missionary at the time and I was finishing up a mission,” Jason Tullos, Cy Ranch assistant principal said. “I remember getting a call. I was told about the attacks. When I was told, I didn’t feel anything. I was completely shocked.”

“I was a Physics teacher,” Kristen Brower, Cy Ranch assistant principal said. “Over the PA I heard the principal say to turn on the TV. There, I saw the first tower drop. It was an eye-opening experience, seeing a terrorist attack on US soil.”

September 11, 2001 will go on in infamy and horror, however the years past were ones that brought peace to Americans. Almost everyone I spoke with mentioned those few years after 9/11, in which everyone was kinder to one another, thought of each other as fellow Americans rather than a stranger. The United States was united, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, or religion. Unfortunately, everyone I spoke with also tells me that today, this country has forgotten the idea of unity. In this day and age of hatred, I urge citizens to remember to be more human, more American and to love each other as brothers rather than as strangers.