I was only 5 years old living in San Diego, CA with my single mother and grand parents. It was 5 in the morning and I was still asleep in my mother’s bed when my grandmother came in and told my mom to turn the TV on. Throughout the day I could tell that something was wrong but was confused as to what it was. Time went by and a year later my mom gave me a children’s book titled “September 12th, We Knew Everything Would Be Alright” that explained the event in a kid-friendly way. I am 22 now and a student at CU Boulder. I recently visited the 9/11 memorial in NYC to get a better understanding of this day. It was the most surreal, heartbreaking thing I have ever experienced.