Wow, only two more columns for the quarter. Only two more weeks for the student body to be graced with the presence of my words.

Yeah, right! Two more weeks of me scratching my head to come up with a 60-line column.

Two more weekends of me pacing up and down the hallway waiting for an idea to just jump up and bite me.

Saturday when I went to the movies with my mom and my brother, the idea came to me.

It was as if the idea was Heaven-sent, if you will. And after reading this, maybe you'll know what I mean.

I saw "Ladder 49." The movie itself was well written and well acted. But what stuck with me the most was the fact that the firefighters gave their lives to save others.

John Travolta, who played the captain, put it best when he said the firefighters run into a burning building when others are running out.

So I started to reflect on 9/11 (during my bawling session, of course).

I couldn't help but think of all of the innocent lives lost.

Three years ago, and the scene is still set so clearly.

Smog. Smoke. Tears. A look of desperation in the eyes of family members still searching for loved ones.

Courage in the face of those who fought countless hours to retrieve even the smallest tangible evidence of a friend left in the rubble.

Memories.

Though it is a constant struggle, those who have lost loved ones have, for the most part, found the strength to go forward.

Out of sight doesn't mean out of mind. I can almost guarantee it's those precious memories that keep those left behind on Earth going day by day.

It's remembering the smiles and the laughter of those gone on before. There's something embedded deep inside that won't let the memory go.

What about the thousand plus lives lost since the war started and supposedly ended.

No, this isn't my way of saying whether or not I think the war was justified. This is just a reminder that many lives have been lost, and many friends and relatives have had to make their unfortunate final goodbyes. Of course, many more Iraqis have died.

Again, what keeps loved ones holding their heads up?

Memories.

It's a mother remembering the day her son or daughter proudly decided to serve the country, no matter what it took.

It's the picture of the little girl waving a miniature flag while sitting on her dad's knee before his deployment.

It's the last e-mail a younger brother received from his older brother, the one he calls his hero.

Memories.

So, at first glance, while it appears you can't go on, it's those memories that comfort you.

It's telling yourself every morning you wake up that the one who has passed on would be so proud.

Losing a loved one is never easy, but finding solace in memories helps smooth out the road to acceptance.

And isn't that how it should be? Shouldn't memories aid in the grieving process? It sure helped in "Ladder 49."

The last song during the movie titled, "Shine Your Light" made me cry even harder.

"Shine your light down on me/Lift me up so I can see/Shine your light when you're gone/Give me the strength/To carry on, carry on."

So to all of us who have lost loved ones -- whether yesterday, a month or 10 years ago -- find comfort in the memories and know your loved ones are shining their light down.

Amber Miles is a senior journalism major from Dallas and serves as editor for The Tech Talk. E-mail comments to anmiles24@hotmail.com.