Where were you on 9/11?

I was 9 years old.

Living in Bangladesh.

Playing with my cousins. Laughing like it was any normal afternoon.

Then I heard my aunt scream into the phone.

“OMG. WTF ARE YOU SAYING?”

We ran over. The TV turned on.

And just like that, the world split in half.

The North Tower of the World Trade Center… on fire.

Smoke gushing out.

News reporters trying to make sense of chaos.

I didn’t understand.

Too young.

“A plane crashed into it?”

“Was it an accident?”

“Is this a movie?”

Then..

The second plane.

South Tower this time.

Still didn’t know why. HOW?

I was crying by that point and didn’t know why.

We sat frozen... Watching both towers crumble.

And the screams… the people.. I’ll never forget those moments.

Bodies jumping. Sirens blaring. Panic.

It didn’t feel real.

But it was.

Years later, in 2011, I moved to New York.

The first place I went?

Ground Zero.

Walking into the museum felt like stepping into sacred grief.

I stood in silence.

The air felt heavy.

It felt too real.

Listened to the final voicemails of passengers.

Touched the “Survivor Stairs” that saved lives.

Saw the twisted steel beams.

Read the names.

Felt the air thick with sorrow.

It wasn’t history.

It was a wound that was still open.

I didn’t lose a family member that day.

But I lost my innocence.

My blind faith in the world.

My ability to believe that people wouldn’t do things like this.

And I gained a heaviness that never left.

💔 To every soul lost

💔 To the families left behind

💔 To the first responders who ran into hell

💔 To the survivors still carrying it all

💔 To the ones who helped and still continue to

You’re not forgotten.

We remember.

We mourn.

We honor.

✦ Never Forget

NYC 🗽

➤ Say their names.

➤ Learn their stories.

And if you’ve never visited the 9/11 Memorial Museum… go.

It’s not a tourist stop.

It’s a reminder of what it means to be human, to hurt and to try to heal.

Pay your respects.

For their sacrifices.

I was 9. I didn’t understand the weight.

Now I do.

9/11 didn’t just happen to Americans.

It happened to the whole world.

And some of us never fully recovered.

We remember. We grieve.

Together.

🗽 Never forget. NYC Strong 🗽

PS: If you needed this today, share this with someone else who might too. Sometimes the subtle reminders are the ones that stick the longest 🧡

Reply and let me know… How are you?

The world is in a dark place right now. We all need each other 🫂

Did not forget … Rest in Peace Charlie Kirk.

You are in our prayers. And again… Never forget ✊🏼