story2252.xml
Title
story2252.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-11
911DA Story: Story
On September 11, 2001, I went to school like any other day. I had a zero hour last year, so I probably got up very early, grumpy as usual, and sleep-walked through the first few periods of school. After second hour I was scrambling to get some last minute homework done in the library. A teacher was talking to the librarian about a plane hitting the World Trade Center. Huh? I was confused, so I shrugged it off; I grabbed a computer and printed off my homework, then ran to third hour with barely enough time before the tardy bell.
My third hour, coincidentally, was U.S. History. My teacher, Mr. Cobb, loves having his students watch his huge screen TV at the front of the room, whether it be the time, movies, or now, the WTC attack video footage. So watch the TV we did, only these were horrific images of the plane crashing into the World Trade Center. Over and over they showed the same scene; a plane crashing into the side of the building, and plumes of smoke billowing out into the air. The news was so shocking to me, that I started crying in class. Mr. Cobb said that if anyone needed to leave and go to the office, it would be okay. Another girl was also sobbing, but much more so than I was. I asked her if she wanted to go to the office with me, even though I didn't like her much, but she declined.
My friend Zoe and I ended up leaving the classroom, but we didn't go to the office. Instead, we went around to various teachers' rooms to give them hugs, and also to give hugs to our friends. I think Zoe even gave the principal a hug. We were the Hug Patrol that day, which makes me smile, even though the events of that day were somber.
The rest of the day blurred together; there was probably more talk of the terrorist attack, but I don't remember much. I do remember calling my mom during school to tell her about the attacks, and to tell her to watch the TV. She was like, "Ai-yah, okay." We had watched on TV, the first tower go down during third hour; later in the day we watched the second tower follow the same fate. We also heard about the Pentagon being hit, and the plane crashing in Pennsylvania.
In my afternoon classes, some of my teachers tried to be productive, which I resented. If something this traumatic was going on in our nation, is a stupid syllabus that important? I didn't care about keeping up on the schedule and stuff like that; I was just thinking about the people in that plane and how scared they must've been. Then I thought about the people in the building, and how confused and unaware they must've been as well.
2001 was the first year I tried out for tennis... We had a tennis match that day but it got cancelled. I wouldn't've remembered that if my friend hadn't reminded me. Apparently it was a home game, but no one would've played very well if we had gone through with it.
When I got home, my first thought was to call my boyfriend to see what he thought about all of it. We'd only been together for a week, and then the WTC attack happened. I was so worried, wondering if he had relatives or anything living in New York. It's odd thinking about it now, how we had only known each other for about a week but here I was, already worried about him. Fortunately, we're still together a year later. =)
When my dad got home, my mom hounded him with questions. He had found out at work what had happened, and I suppose they discussed about it some. I wasn't really paying attention; one of my sister's close friends lived in New York at the time and I was thinking about him. My sister was a senior at MSU at this time, so she was close to home. Later that week her friend came home to Michigan because he was scared, and they got together to talk.
My relatives in Taiwan called because they were worried about us. My mom assured them that we were fine, and again they talked. There was so much talking involved with the WTC attacks, yet I don't remember any of it.
Later that week I was online, talking to my friend from New York. I was worried about him because I hadn't talked to him in forever. Coincidentally, he goes to the school that is about a block away from the WTC. I was scared for him, because I hadn't heard from him in a while and I was afraid something had happened to him. Him and his friend were outside when the plane crashed into the tower; he got shrapnel in his arm. Since he's a swimmer, he was out for about a month. When school let out for the day, they walked to his friend's house in Queens. I just remember being so relieved to talk to his friend and finding out he was okay.
Now that I think about it, September 11th was the birthday of a girl in my third hour. I felt bad for her; having such an event on her birthday. She kept saying, "Today's my birthday... today's my birthday..." Well, happy birthday Jen, it's September 11th again.
My third hour, coincidentally, was U.S. History. My teacher, Mr. Cobb, loves having his students watch his huge screen TV at the front of the room, whether it be the time, movies, or now, the WTC attack video footage. So watch the TV we did, only these were horrific images of the plane crashing into the World Trade Center. Over and over they showed the same scene; a plane crashing into the side of the building, and plumes of smoke billowing out into the air. The news was so shocking to me, that I started crying in class. Mr. Cobb said that if anyone needed to leave and go to the office, it would be okay. Another girl was also sobbing, but much more so than I was. I asked her if she wanted to go to the office with me, even though I didn't like her much, but she declined.
My friend Zoe and I ended up leaving the classroom, but we didn't go to the office. Instead, we went around to various teachers' rooms to give them hugs, and also to give hugs to our friends. I think Zoe even gave the principal a hug. We were the Hug Patrol that day, which makes me smile, even though the events of that day were somber.
The rest of the day blurred together; there was probably more talk of the terrorist attack, but I don't remember much. I do remember calling my mom during school to tell her about the attacks, and to tell her to watch the TV. She was like, "Ai-yah, okay." We had watched on TV, the first tower go down during third hour; later in the day we watched the second tower follow the same fate. We also heard about the Pentagon being hit, and the plane crashing in Pennsylvania.
In my afternoon classes, some of my teachers tried to be productive, which I resented. If something this traumatic was going on in our nation, is a stupid syllabus that important? I didn't care about keeping up on the schedule and stuff like that; I was just thinking about the people in that plane and how scared they must've been. Then I thought about the people in the building, and how confused and unaware they must've been as well.
2001 was the first year I tried out for tennis... We had a tennis match that day but it got cancelled. I wouldn't've remembered that if my friend hadn't reminded me. Apparently it was a home game, but no one would've played very well if we had gone through with it.
When I got home, my first thought was to call my boyfriend to see what he thought about all of it. We'd only been together for a week, and then the WTC attack happened. I was so worried, wondering if he had relatives or anything living in New York. It's odd thinking about it now, how we had only known each other for about a week but here I was, already worried about him. Fortunately, we're still together a year later. =)
When my dad got home, my mom hounded him with questions. He had found out at work what had happened, and I suppose they discussed about it some. I wasn't really paying attention; one of my sister's close friends lived in New York at the time and I was thinking about him. My sister was a senior at MSU at this time, so she was close to home. Later that week her friend came home to Michigan because he was scared, and they got together to talk.
My relatives in Taiwan called because they were worried about us. My mom assured them that we were fine, and again they talked. There was so much talking involved with the WTC attacks, yet I don't remember any of it.
Later that week I was online, talking to my friend from New York. I was worried about him because I hadn't talked to him in forever. Coincidentally, he goes to the school that is about a block away from the WTC. I was scared for him, because I hadn't heard from him in a while and I was afraid something had happened to him. Him and his friend were outside when the plane crashed into the tower; he got shrapnel in his arm. Since he's a swimmer, he was out for about a month. When school let out for the day, they walked to his friend's house in Queens. I just remember being so relieved to talk to his friend and finding out he was okay.
Now that I think about it, September 11th was the birthday of a girl in my third hour. I felt bad for her; having such an event on her birthday. She kept saying, "Today's my birthday... today's my birthday..." Well, happy birthday Jen, it's September 11th again.
Collection
Citation
“story2252.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed April 10, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/11521.