Saturday, September 11, 2010

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day?

I was in the 8th grade.

It was 6 in the morning (on the west coast) and I had just woken up to get ready for school.

My parents were still asleep so I went into our living room to turn on the TV and probably sleep a little longer on the couch.

The first thing I saw on the screen was a big skyscraper on fire. Then an airplane went through the building next to it. I had no idea what was going on or what the buildings even were. I watched clouds of smoke and flames, heard people screaming, and saw things start crashing to the ground.

I decided to shower and get ready for school. My parents were awake and I told them I had just watched some airplane crash through some building on the news.

They ran to the TV and couldn't take their eyes off of it. My dad explained to me that the buildings weren't just landmarks people go on vacation to see but they were the world trade centers and thousands of people worked in those buildings every day. I still don't even think I understood.

I went to school that day and all of the teachers were hush hush about the situation. We kept hearing different bits and pieces of information and a lot of students spent the day crying. Some students even got pulled out of school for the day by their parents.

In 5th period my computer teacher finally turned on the TV for us to see what was going on and that is when it hit me. The images I saw on the screen will probably be burned into my brain forever. The people jumping out of the burning building. The burned and bloody bodies helplessly lying on the ground. The people covered in grey smoke and ashes. The screaming and crying. The image of the second tower getting hit by the airplane seemed to play over and over.

The worst part was the fear. Everyone was overcome by some type of fear. Fear that it would happen again. Fear that loved ones had been lost. Fear that our nation would never be the same that it once was, and it hasn't been.

It's been 9 years but it seems like it happened just yesterday.

2 comments:

  1. There are no words when trying to remember how awful that day was. It really did change the world.

    I remember it was 14.15 (my time) and I had just come out of school. I remember having this sick feeling that something bad had happened in the pit of my stomach. You know that feeling when something just doesn't feel right? Then I got in the car and there was just screaming on the radio...from that moment it was just bizarre watching it on tv, seeing it in the papers.

    The worst day for me was September 12th...waking up actually thinking it was a dream. That the world was now at war with terrorism...it wasn't history any more and it was very very real.

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  2. Thank you for sharing your story and linking up to my blog.

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