I remember being in the 5th grade, 10 years old. New friends, a new school to get used to, and the world suddenly becoming new again. I was right on my theory of everything becoming new again in the worst way possible.

The day of September 11th, 2001 was a day like any other day. The entire day at school, nobody made a fuss about what happened. We didn’t have televisions in our classroom, so none of us found out until after school.

Once the 3:00 bell rang, I exited school and went to my mom’s car where she picked me up. I got in the car, and my mom was crying as she was listening to the radio. I asked her what was wrong. And she said, and I will never forget, “Today is a very sad day for the world, son.” I remember going home, not fully understanding the severity of what happened. The complexity of the situation boggled my young mind, as I carried on with doing my homework. The day was silent in Oklahoma, and I’ll never forget that horrific day in our history.