I miss New York. It's not just a city but a whole living organism of people who have complex lives that get up day after day to face their challenges. Every single person matters and makes an impact; the couple you see at lunch, the kids running on the street, the woman sitting next to you on the subway. They work and dream just like us and although I may never see them again in a city of almost 9 million people, they're important. We need each other. We are humans helping one another fight for good and trying to leave the world better than how we inherited it. September 11th reminds me of that strength of community coming together during the most terrifying of times. I hope I can always remember to pull together and be brave. To help those who can't help themselves and learn to love my neighbors. It's the best I can do to echo those who have died doing exactly this.

Living in New York and hearing how closely people were effected gave me a whole new perspective that I didn't get watching it on tv 16 years ago. I was told stories of how strangers bonded and how offices all over the city made space for those that worked in the Twin Towers and damaged trade buildings. They literally crammed more desks into rooms and cleared off tables just so they could have a place to work again. I have so much respect for that.

I took these photos last year on September 11th but for some reason never shared them. It felt like they weren't anything special since I had seen the memorial so often. Now I look at them and miss the intense peace I felt there. I miss the sense of connectedness of this large community banding together to remember those who have fallen. My heart still aches for all the suffering that happened and continues to effect others. I may not be there, but I still remember the engraved names and the countless heroes. May they continue to rest in peace.