I still recall, eight years ago today, waking up and going through the usual primping a high school senior goes through before setting off for what, one would only assume, would have been a regular day.

That, of course, was not the case.

As the day progressed, I remember the almost surreal nature of that day… feeling as though I was in a haze and that the events unfolding before us could not be real, that they were some sort of sick movie. That feeling did not subside for months – watching our nation make the march towards war and enact law after law that would monitor what we read, what we search, where we go, and what we do.

But what I also recall, quite vividly, was that September 11th, 2001 was the genesis of my political activism. My English teacher would offer extra credit to students who participated in “Open Podium” sessions every Friday.  Most students would discuss music, what they were reading, or their thoughts on what the school was doing – I, on the other hand, always had a newspaper turned to the national section, reading off the latest proposed provision to the PATRIOT act, and discussing how this was not the America I knew and loved.

In many ways, 9/11 is the reason why you are reading this blog today.

I must admit that the memory of today is one of the few things that makes me speechless – the whirl of emotions surrounding today makes it difficult to put words down.  It was a tragic event, of course, but it was also the moment I awoke to the world and wanted to make a change. In my life it 9/11 is an extremely bitter moment with a touch of sweet – it lit the candle that helped me pierce through the darkness.