Ten Years.

Ten years. In some ways it has flown by, in some ways it feels like a lifetime ago. I can still remember exactly what I did that morning. I can remember how everyone came together in those months afterward. Bonded by our fear, our sadness, our strength. A nation united.

But years go by and the day-to-day struggles in life take over. As I sit watching documentaries on the firefighters of 9/11 and the families of victims left behind, it makes me feel so foolish for all of the insignificant little things that I let overshadow my life. Those people in the Towers and those who responded are the best of humanity -- the compassion, the selflessness, the hope.

As the faces of the firefighters who died during 9/11 flash across my screen,  I can't help but think, what are we doing to honor the sacrifice they made? Would they be happy with what our country has become? Fighting about our economy, acting like children arguing over a toy? Worshipping celebrities who are famous for nothing? Senselessly hurting our neighbors for no good reason?

We are better than that. For those who died on 9/11, we should be better than that. For those who will come after us, we need to be better than that. When was the last time you showed the selflessness that those men and women showed on that fateful Tuesday? Giving up your seat for someone on the train?  Helped your neighbor carry in their groceries? Simply saying good morning to the person behind the counter at the coffee shop?

Those brave men and women of 9/11 died so people they had never met could survive and get back to their families. Surely we can do small things in our daily lives.

Victims of 9/11

On this 10th anniversary, let's not just remember the bad that happened but see through the sorrow the good people who lost their lives on that day. Let's challenge ourselves to be better for them, for those who didn't get a chance to live to their full potential. Let's be the great nation that we can be -- showing that together we can do anything. If everyone had the mindset those firefighters had on that fateful day think of all the good we could accomplish.

One firefighter so eloquently said, "The legacy should not be of sadness. The legacy should be humanity and the resilience of life." What legacy are we leaving post 9/11? Only we can decide. Hug your family. Love your neighbors. Live your legacy.