This Video Of The Attacks Of 9/11 From An NYU Dorm Will Take The Air Straight Out Of Your Lungs

`In a word? Horrifying. It's crazy, to this day - nearly 15 years later - it still seems surreal that two passenger carrying commercial jets were flown straight into the most prominent pair of financial skyscrapers in the United States as a direct act of terrorism. It becomes a lot more real when you hear the frightened shrieks of a couple college kids who finally shook - as most of us did - the denial that the first plane was just a tragic accident. Just watching this video sent a vulnerable numbness throughout my whole body as if it were filming live. I can't even imagine what it must be like to WAKE UP to something like that occurring so close to you and coming to the realization of what actually happened while being 32 floors in the air.

So over the weekend - after you banter about a bunch of otherwise meaningless shit and before you just casually pick a filter and post a 9/11 memorial on Instagram - just remember what this country went through a decade and a half ago. The innocent lives lost simply because they were in the wrong place (American soil) at the wrong time. Remember that for the most part we bounced back pretty damn nicely. I think sometimes (most of the time) - as Americans - we forget that we are supposed to be in this thing together and we become more prone to lash at those that disagree about social issues instead of coming together to start solving them. I am as guilty as anyone, but - if only for one day - remember that, despite the all the contentiousness in this country, we all share the most important thing in common. The collective blessing to call the United States home.