Changed by 9/11: Gayle Amico — West Islip Resident

Editor's Note: In order to commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11, Patch will be rolling out special features to honor the people who lost their lives in the attacks. 

The following piece was contributed by resident Gayle Amico, who believes you shouldn't wait till tomorrow to follow your dream. 

I am very lucky to not have been intimately affected by the tragedy of 9/11 by being there or knowing anyone close to me who was there or who passed away.  Like all of us New Yorkers, I could tell you exactly where I was and what I was doing that morning as I heard the news. But this is about what we learned from 9/11.  So I have decided to tell a different point of view.

How many of us New Yorkers have never been to the Empire State Building, Central Park, The Statue of Liberty or any other landmarks we hold dear? Well in August 2001 my husband and I were taking a cruise out of the city to New England.  Anyone who has done that before knows as your ship is pulling out you get to go by the financial district as well as other landmarks.

Standing out on the deck everyone had their cameras out and were taking pictures as we went by. Because of the side of the ship we were on, we took pictures of the port, the Statue of Liberty, the Verrazano Bridge as well as other ships going by. We do not have any pictures of the World Trade Center from that day.

Two weeks later they were gone!  Something that was a fixture on the landscape of our city just left a space as if it were just erased from a picture.

So along with the obvious lesson that we always learn from even just one death not too mention thousands of deaths: life is too short.  Also realize that things you think you can always do "someday" might not be there the next.  If there is a vacation you want to take, an adventure you want to experience, a family member you want to visit, do it now!  Don't wait until you have the money, the time, until you get the car you want, the house you want…"someday" is today!  Don't regret something that was erased from your life before you get the chance to draw it.