I was eight at the time and in third grade. The sky was a beautiful deep blue, not a cloud to be seen. I didn't hear about it until my dad picked me up from the school bus and he had the news playing on the radio. When we got home the TV was still on and I was greeted by a replay of United 175 hitting the South Tower. It wasn't until I saw a replay of the towers collapsing and reports from the ground that I began to understand the gravity of the situation or at least as much as an eight year old could. My parents were nervous. That night I didn't sleep well and was scared. The next morning my mom had the TV on and I couldn't believe there was still fires at Ground Zero. School was chaotic because everyone was asking questions about it. Fast forward to September 11, 2013 and I was in Afghanistan at Kandahar Airfield. Looking back at it all now, twenty five years later, I think September 11, 2001 was the end of innocence. Definitely a day that changed everything.