In the 10 years since, it’s been hard to fathom the events of 9/11.

Even more, the scope of that day’s events reach further than any of us could have imagined.

While it’s painful to dredge up the memories of those lost and injured that day, it’s almost equally painful to look at the ways that day has changed our lives.

In the hours afterward, we all huddled around our TVs, watching to see what would happen next. We watched loop after loop of the footage and held our loved ones close.

In the weeks and months after the attacks, those feelings subsided and we went back to our normal lives. Or so we thought.

Things like the Patriot Act and heightened airport security crept into our routines, and most of us have been able to adapt. But what about those who never had a chance to adapt?

Children born in the last 10 years have grown up in a world where the word “terrorism” is commonplace. These kids know nothing other than a United States embroiled in war, after war with fighting and fear consuming the media.

It’s unfortunate, really, that these children won’t ever know what it is to live in a country where fear dictates decisions.

Thank God for our young men and women in uniform, fighting to keep this country free, but let’s hope everyone remembers their purpose. Freedom.

Though 9/11 changed so many facets of our lives, we hold out hope that one day we’ll be able to restore the feeling of innocence many felt before those attacks. We hold out hope that one day our kids will be able to feel the same way we did as children.

We hope they can one day feel free.