Right now, I'm listening to this song over and over while crying uncontrollably: God Bless America by Martina McBride. Why this song, and why her? It's because she sang it in 2001. Many of you might not know the reason, but it's because her voice—singing God Bless America across the United States and far beyond its borders—reached so many of us just after 9/11.

Back in 2001, I completed my Master's program in July and had an interview in Tokyo at a law firm headquartered in NYC. Yes, I would have come back home to New York. But that horrible nightmare changed my life. I clearly remember the scene when I traveled back home from the laboratory. It was around 23:00 when I was first shocked by what was happening on the TV screen. I won't talk about it too much. Everything had changed at that moment.

Her voice and the anthem she sang encouraged and supported everyone, including me. Do you know why I pay the highest respect to her?