09/11/2026
On this solemn day, I remember emerging from the 42nd Street subway into an ordinary morning the city moving around me, people heading to work, the day beginning as it always did.
By the time I reached my building and rode the elevator to the 43rd floor, the familiar rhythm of the morning had shattered. When the doors opened, an employee said, “A plane has hit the World Trade Center.” I ran to my office and turned on my computer, searching for answers and praying that what I had heard could not be true. The ordinary sounds and routines of the day had been replaced by confusion, fear, and the dawning realization that something unimaginable was unfolding.
Witnessing the attacks changed the way I understand ordinary moments. A routine commute, a glance at the sky, or the simple beginning of a workday can hold a significance we may not recognize until everything changes. It also taught me that resilience is found in continuing to remember, to care for one another, and to honor those whose lives were taken.
The shock of that morning gave way to grief a grief felt across the city and around the world and to a heartbreak that remains with me. Today, I remember the lives lost, the families forever changed, the courageous first responders who ran toward danger, and everyone who witnessed the horror of September 11, 2001. We carry their memory with us, and we will never forget.🦅
