I always have a hard time around 9/11 each year.

Every year I watch the videos again and cry just like I did that day sitting in my school’s student union. Of the 3,000 innocent people who were killed, I didn’t know one, but I would have liked to. 19 psychopaths with airplanes took away from all of us the ability to ever know them. They extinguished the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of 3,000 in an instant. They stole 3,000 fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, and spouses from families that loved them. They murdered 3,000 of our fellow Americans.

Please take the time each day to appreciate, cherish, and love whoever walks through the door with a smile to greet you. Perhaps it’s your father, mother, son, daughter, or spouse, maybe it’s your roommate or friend. Remember that for 3,000 families, never again will they see that person walk through their door to say hello or I love you.

Sit in quiet reflection and think about how you felt that day in September, write the names of those 3,000 on your heart, and most importantly, never forget.