In remembrance of September 11th

I remember September 11th vividly. You probably do too. A lot of that day is marked in our memory.

That morning I chose not to go to school. I took a taxi and left to see my boyfriend in Chicago. I was a young girl taking risks, not very smart risks.

My mom, of course, was all too busy working and didn't realize a thing.

You must pay attention to your daughters and validate them early, with words of appreciation and by modeling the best example.

We seek validation and approval in others.

If you have girls and boys in your life, let them know they are valued, loved, and unique. Let them know they need to do nothing to earn your love. Let us do like Kobe Bryant's father did.

One day, Kobe got zero shots in, and his father looked at him and said, "I don’t care if you scored 60 points or 0 points. I will love you no matter what."

You are setting the foundation for our nation's children.

I hopped on to the Taxi, and the driver was listening to the radio. It sounded like devasting news! I asked him, what happened? He said there is news the tower was just hit. He was a Muslim.

That day, began the anti-Muslim sentiment, and anti-immigrant sentiment in this nation.

I grew up in diverse schools, in Des Plaines, Illinois, where differences were appreciated and celebrated, so I chose not to participate in this sentiment. Yet there are many parts of America, where we do not celebrate diversity.

I think we have come far though. I have many more opportunities than my grandmother.

As you think of September 11th, remember that life is fragile and a gift. All your opportunities today have come as a result of someone's resolution to provide a better life for you yesterday. They may also be the result of people having more open minds and hearts.

Here are some other things you can reflect on today:

When the news shares, that someone caused harm and they mention their race, do you judge the race or the action of the person? For example, the actions of September 11th were by someone Muslim, do you interpret it as if all Muslims are bad? Or will you commit to detaching the judgment from the race, as the first step towards love?

Another example, when the news shares of someone rich, do you think all people are rich and greedy? I grew up Catholic in the Latinamerican community and for decades of my life, I thought being poor was better because having money would make me bad. I know better now, that money doesn't make a woman it only reveals her. With more money, isn't it possible, you can do more good?

I invite you today to have an open mind. No matter what side of the table you sit on, you can have open ears and hearts in a conversation.

An open mind can help you create peace in your home with your loved ones. It can help you create a better environment in your workplace. It can make your city, state, and county, and world better.

When you and I appreciate the differences in each other we make a STRONGER more BEAUTIFUL world.

I invite you today to do 1 SERVICE ACTION in favor of someone who is a different religion, immigrant status, color, and/or gender because of the strength in humanity is its power to love.

Share a job opportunity, pay for the next person in Starbucks, recommend a colleague, and/or volunteer with a non for profit you wouldn't normally volunteer with.

Share below what is one thing that you commit to doing in remembrance of September 11th.

My name is Tanya Flores, a real estate broker and mentor at Tanya Flores -Real Estate Broker at EXP Realty. I am the founder of Kidz Kosmos, an e-learning platform focused on creating global citizens.