I painted this self portrait in high school in 2001 when I heard about the devastation over the radio from San Francisco. I was 17 years old. I feel blessed and cursed to have lived through such a tragedy, realizing that there are young people now who only know of 9/11 through stories. The unity and shared sadness of the world that came following the unimaginable events was irreplaceable. My hope for the future is for the nation to find the same compassion and love for one another without the catalyst of such a catastrophic situation. May we never forget for the humanity of us all.