story9206.xml
Title
story9206.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-04-22
911DA Story: Story
September 11 was like any other day, minus the fact that it was my 14th birthday. I got to school around 9, completly unaware of the drama that was unfolding around our country. In homeroom I heard one of the gym teachers remark "there has been an explosion at the World Trade Center" but I shrugged it off as propaghanda until I got to my first hour and saw the images of the second plane smashing into the South Tower. I was in utter shock, to say the least, and my class watched in awe as the buildings crashed to the ground. My teacher, overwhelmed with grief, turned off the television... and with that, the lights went out. All the power in the school was gone, but we were not informed why until days after.
It suddenly occured to me that my aunt was only blocks away from all the chaos in New York; she works a few blocks from the towers. Frantically I tried to get ahold of my mom but to no avail. Finally my mom came to the school and picked me up, saying that she had been on the phone with my aunt as the second plane hit and that is why I could not get through to her. I was checked out and had to sit in horror on the couch, watching the story unfold. It was a bitter blow to my family as we found out news of hundreds of firefighter casualties. All of my mom's cousins who were men were firefighters, and we would not find out if they were alive or not for several days because everyone was trapped in the city.
The rest of that day was so numbing. I sat emotionless on the couch, hoping that this was all a horrific dream and that at any moment, I would wake up and all would be safe again. But as time passed it was revealed that reality was more devastating than we could ever imagine. I've shed so many tears for those lost; been so proud of those who stood out as heroes; seen so many pictures of people who had perished beneath the rubble. Eerily, in the summer of 2001, I had visited 3 places: Washington, DC, New York City, and Pennsylvania. I was relieved that I got to see all three places while they were still in their prime. All I can do now is pray that America has the strength to recover... and I know we will prevail.
It suddenly occured to me that my aunt was only blocks away from all the chaos in New York; she works a few blocks from the towers. Frantically I tried to get ahold of my mom but to no avail. Finally my mom came to the school and picked me up, saying that she had been on the phone with my aunt as the second plane hit and that is why I could not get through to her. I was checked out and had to sit in horror on the couch, watching the story unfold. It was a bitter blow to my family as we found out news of hundreds of firefighter casualties. All of my mom's cousins who were men were firefighters, and we would not find out if they were alive or not for several days because everyone was trapped in the city.
The rest of that day was so numbing. I sat emotionless on the couch, hoping that this was all a horrific dream and that at any moment, I would wake up and all would be safe again. But as time passed it was revealed that reality was more devastating than we could ever imagine. I've shed so many tears for those lost; been so proud of those who stood out as heroes; seen so many pictures of people who had perished beneath the rubble. Eerily, in the summer of 2001, I had visited 3 places: Washington, DC, New York City, and Pennsylvania. I was relieved that I got to see all three places while they were still in their prime. All I can do now is pray that America has the strength to recover... and I know we will prevail.
Collection
Citation
“story9206.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed January 25, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/12054.