24 years after 9/11

I was in my final year of college on September 11, 2001. I remember how the "real world" suddenly felt more uncertain, more fragile, more frightening.

But I also remember something else, something I’ll never forget.

Flying into New York in the weeks that followed, you could feel it in the air: a deep, unspoken compassion. People helping. Supporting. Showing up. Holding space for loss, healing, hope.

In the midst of unimaginable grief, I witnessed the best of humanity.

Today, I write to honor the lives that were lost, and all the lives forever changed on that September morning.
And I’m also reflecting on something harder: how far we’ve drifted from that profound sense of unity.

We’re still living through heartbreaks—personal, national, global—but our responses, they feel... different.
Connection is still there, yes. But so is judgment. Division. The need to be "right" instead of understanding.

So in honor of these past 24 years, I’m making a commitment:

To honor our shared humanity with compassion.
To listen more deeply.
To be slower to judge.
To ask better questions.
To believe that we can still have each other’s backs.

When tragedy strikes, whether on the global stage or in someone’s private life, may we grieve what’s lost and still reach for each other. And be reminded of both our fragility and our capacity for extraordinary care.

💜 I commit to carry both forward.