I was 14 years old when terrorists invaded our country, murdered our citizens, leveled our buildings and shattered our world as we knew it.

I was 14 years old when I sat in my ninth-grade Spanish class and watched along with my classmates as smoke billowed out of the North Tower of the World Trade Center after a plane crashed into it at 8:46 a.m.

I was 14 years old when I found out the plane hitting the North Tower was not an accident as I saw the second plane crash into the South Tower in an explosion of black smoke, orange flames and debris.

I was 14 years old when I watched the destruction from the collapse of the towers and the chaos and scores of people wailing in the streets, crying out in despair, confusion and anguish.

I was 14 years old when the landscape of our country changed as we realized people full of hatred had invaded our country and used our aircrafts as missiles and turned 2,977 American citizens into victims of the worst terrorist attacks our country has ever seen.

I was 14 years old when I tried to comprehend what had happened to our country and how we could possibly move forward.

I was 14 years old on September 11, 2001 – a day I’ll never forget.

I was 24 years old when a deadly tornado invaded our county, murdered our citizens, leveled our buildings and shattered our world as we knew it.

I was 24 years old when I sat at my desk and listened to sirens sound throughout the day signaling the onslaught of the severe weather that was headed for our area.

I was 24 years old when I stood at the window of my house and watched as a 200-year-old oak tree fell within 15 yards of where I was standing, narrowly avoiding crushing me and our home thanks to God’s protection.

I was 24 years old when I forgot all about the oak tree as reports came streaming in about an EF-5 tornado sweeping through the town of Phil Campbell, wiping out everything in its path including the school, hundreds of homes and several businesses.

I was 24 years old when I sat in my living room with my husband trying to wrap my mind around the fact that a massive, deadly tornado had ripped through our county when nothing like that had ever happened before.

I was 24 years old when my doorbell rang and I learned that a precious girl who had been one of my best friends for most of my life had become one of the 26 victims in Franklin County to die as a result of the tornado’s vicious rampage.

I was 24 years old when I fully realized the brevity of life as I experienced a close, personal loss of life for the first time that I could actually remember.

I was 24 years old when I sobbed on the shoulders of my husband, my mother, my father, my brother and my friends while I tried to comprehend what had happened to our county and how we could possibly move forward.

I was 24 years old on April 27, 2011 – a day I’ll never forget.

I am still 24 years old. I don’t have all the answers and I know that I will never fully understand the things that happen in life.

But what I do know is that after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, I watched as our nation came together – bonding with one another on the sole basis that we were Americans and we were strong and we would make it through that crisis.

I do know that after the EF-5 tornado destroyed parts of our county and took the lives of our friends, our family and our neighbors, I watched as our county came together along with people from across this nation to donate time, money, resources and support to any and every person who needed it.

September 11, 2001, and April 27, 2011 are two days that no one in this area will ever forget, but I am proud to say that, even though it seemed impossible at the time, we are moving forward as a country and we are moving forward as a county thanks to the grace of God.

God bless this county and God bless the U.S.A.