Twenty-two years ago today, the world changed forever.

Although I was in second grade, I remember that day like it was yesterday.

When you’re young you remember the small things: My father holding me as we hurried home from school, SportsCenter canceling its broadcast, my mother telling me the next day that she did not want me leaving the house.

But I will never forget the feeling I had seeing my parents' worried faces or watching my hometown disappear into a cloud of smoke.

From sleepless nights to “terror threat level” tickers on the right-hand corner of each news channel, it seemed that fear had taken over.

But there was something else, too.

As the days went by, friends and family would share stories – like how my uncle narrowly escaped from midtown or how our cousins went to Ground Zero to help clear the rubble each day.

Those visits felt different. I felt closer to my neighbors and loved ones than I ever have, as if the walls we had put up over time had come down on that fateful day.

People hugged each other a little longer. At baseball games we didn’t cheer for our team, but instead the entire stadium would erupt in boisterous chants of “USA! USA!”

Petty differences were put aside and people of all races, creeds, identities, financial means all came together to rebuild.

We all felt the pull of patriotism and the promise of hope.

So today, I’m going to hug my parents a little tighter, reach out to my loved ones, and remember the sense of pride I felt to be a New Yorker – and an American.

I want to thank the brave firefighters, police officers, and first responders of our incredible community and offer my sincerest condolences to everybody who lost someone special on that day.

Today, I pray that we all have the strength to choose hope over fear.

With gratitude,
Zak