As the second anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on America has passed, I know that the vision of those buildings being struck by the passenger air planes will stick with me forever.

I was in my junior year at Andalusia High School when Mr. Kelley called everyone to the auditorium and gave us the news with tears in his eyes.

It seems that the media is making the tragedies more personal.

They tell the stories of the survivors who made it out of the buildings only to find out a loved one or friend hadn't been so lucky.

They tell of the babies who are born after the tragedy that will never know their father because he was taken from them in such an unfair way.

They tell of the people who gave their lives to help the others live by going into the building while everyone else was running away from it.

They tell of the people who helped others get out of the firey building without having any regard for their own safety. They just kept on helping as many people as they could.

I never could have imagined that something so horrible could happen and I hope it never does again.

I guess there is a silver lining to every dark cloud. In this instant, it was all of the people coming together to help one another. People became more patriotic and more compassionate.

Compassion is a very important thing to have; and when Americans saw what had happened, people rushed to give of their time, their effort, their money and anything else they could give.

It made me very proud to see how everyone pulled together and helped heal the wound that cut so deep in America.

I will never forget seeing one picture in particular. It wasn't a very publicized picture but it spoke loudly to me.

The picture was of a construction worker, who had volunteered his efforts taking a break. He was standing looking at the pile of steel, concrete, and lives that were lost at the World Trade Center that day with tears in his eyes. You could just see the heartbreak in this man's eyes.

Everyone who was involved in helping with the search and rescue or the clean up efforts should know they are heroes. The policemen and firemen who did their job and didn't have reservations because they knew what had to be done are heroes.

And all of the families who suffered losses at any of the attack spots should know they will forever have the prayers and support of Americans.