Some moments change us forever. Standing beneath the Twin Towers as a college student in 1999, I couldn't have imagined how those buildings would come to symbolize both our national trauma and our capacity for unity just two years later.
The anniversary of 9/11 prompted me to record these unplanned reflections about what we've gained and lost since that day when Americans briefly set aside their differences to grieve together. Working in Texas politics taught me that survival depends on finding common ground with those who think differently. You learn quickly that disagreement doesn't have to mean division—that you can build something meaningful together even when you don't see eye-to-eye on everything.
But something has shifted in our society. Where did we lose the ability to disagree peacefully? When did differences become dangerous? Growing up in small-town Texas where kids kept guns in their trucks at school without incident feels worlds away from today's landscape of political violence and school shootings. Fear has replaced trust. Labels have replaced humanity. And I wonder how we find our way back.
I don't have all the answers, but I believe the path forward requires more courage, more honest conversations, and more willingness to see each other as people first—not as the letter behind a name or the title on a business card. True understanding comes not from books but from lived experiences that teach us humanity. Even through my hardest times, including homelessness, love has sustained me. And love—for family, friends, and even those who challenge us—might be what saves us yet.
Join me in this moment of reflection as we remember not just what we lost on 9/11, but what we briefly found: our shared humanity.
