JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Every year, the meaning of Sept. 11 changes for Lori Guadagno, who lost her brother in the terrorist attacks.

"It's still incredibly difficult," said Guadagno.

She still has a hard time explaining all of the ways the terrorist attacks changed her.

RELATED: St. Augustine residents show solidarity with New York on 9/11

Her family had a get together in Newark on Sept. 10, 2001. When she hugged her little brother goodbye- she had tears in her eyes.

Richard Guadagno died on Flight 93 the next day.

"As intimately personal as it was losing my brother, it's a national tragedy. It's part of history now. So it's a really weird balancing act to deal with the private and personal and something that is so big and so great with a story that needs to be told and needs to be remembered," Lori said.

SLIDESHOW: First Coast, nation pauses to remember Sept. 11, 2001

In the years following his death, she's chosen to remember her brother through charity work. She started a scholarship in his name and founded a nonprofit at Wolfson Children's Hospital dedicated to helping families dealing with terminal illness.

"There's two directions you can go in and I chose the one i thought would matter and that would save me," Lori said.

In memory of her little brother, her best friend.

"Every day, try and make it better, try and hold on to the goodness.
And I know doing that is a way to honor my brother."

First Coast News