Twenty-five years have passed since September 11, 2001. Each year, I take time on this day to remember the lives lost, the families whose lives changed forever, and the first responders and ordinary people who stepped forward to help.

This anniversary also brings me back to March 2019, when I traveled to New York City with the Twinsburg High School Orchestra and Marching Band. During that trip, we visited the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. It was a deeply moving experience that brought back the emotions of that day.

The Memorial’s twin reflecting pools sit in the footprints of the original Twin Towers. Along their edges, names are inscribed in bronze. Those names remind us that behind the scale of the tragedy were individual people, each with a family, friendships, plans, and a life that should have continued.

Standing there gives you time to pause and consider the absence those people left behind. The Memorial and Museum offer a place to remember them and help future generations understand what happened and how it changed our nation and the world.

As we mark 25 years, there is an entire generation that knows September 11 only through photographs, recordings, and the experiences of others. Those of us who remember that day have a responsibility to keep sharing its history and the stories of the people affected.

I also want to remember the compassion that followed: people helping strangers, communities supporting grieving families, and so many putting the needs of others before their own. That willingness to care for one another deserves to be carried forward.

Every year, I return to this subject because remembering still matters. Today, my thoughts are with those who lost loved ones, those who survived, and those who continue to carry the effects of that day.

Below are some of the photographs I captured during our 2019 visit to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York City. I share them again as a moment to pause, reflect, and honor those we lost.