story9288.xml
Title
story9288.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2003-05-01
911DA Story: Story
My name is Stephanie White, I am 24 years old, and I am from Idaho. I've lived in Coeur d'Alene and Lewiston Idaho all of my life. I spent the last 4 years in New York City. I left on October 31st 2001.
I had always wanted to see the bright lights of New York City. I never dreamed that one day I would actually get to see them.
On September 9th 2001 I was getting ready to go out with some friends to a "Puddle Of Mudd" concert at the Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan. I had no cares in the world that night, as I went out with my friends and had a good time. I would have never thought that with in the next day my entire world would be turned upside down, into a mass confusion of chaos and fear.
Now, almost 2 years later, I still am a confused ball of emotions. I have so many different thoughts about it, and yet I don't know what to say exactly.
Still, I have bad dreams, and sometimes get into a deep depression, as I think about all of the people that lost someone. I feel like I should have died to. I felt guilty that I was not there, or in the city that morning. I felt lucky that I did not loose anyone I loved.
I watched the twin towers burn and fall to the ground from my sixth floor bedroom apartment window.
I was shaken awake that morning by my boyfriend, who said "Look the trade center is on fire". I, half awake, looked out my bedroom window, in the direction of the world trade center, only to see one tower completely engulfed in black smoke.
My first thought was, that someone had flown way to close to the towers and smashed into it, I never thought for a second that by the end of the day, I would never see those towers again.
As I turned on my T.v. to see what was going on, my stomach turned upside down, when I heard that the pentagon was on fire as well.
When I walked over to my window and looked out, that's when I seen the second plane smash into the other tower and erupt in a huge fireball. I stood in shock, my hand over my mouth, as I realized I had screamed "NO! OH MY GOD!" I stood in complete shock, as I watched the fire burn.
I rushed to the phone desperately trying to call my family to let them know that I was ok, and that I was not in Manhattan, that I was in Queens. (Astoria, Queens New York) The phones were all busy. I got in touch with my family through out the day.
My boyfriends cousin Roxi, worked on Wall Street. I worried about where she was, and if she was trapped, or dead. Finally Roxi called and said she was on her way home.
That's when I turned back to the T.v. and watched the news. Soon they were showing over and over the same shot of the airplane smashing into the tower. Each time it got more surreal.
Once again I went back to my window, as I watched the smoke, I began to see what I thought were pieces of the building and the plane falling off of the towers, which I could not see very well, ...... only to realize it was people jumping and falling to their deaths.
I never thought for a second that those towers would ever fall. It never crossed my mind.
I was sitting and watching the news, as I hear more and more about what was happening, I started to realize this was an attack. This was no accident.
As I stared at the T.v. in shock, I heard a reporter on the T.v. scream "oh my god! Run!" and as I was looking at the T.v., I seen the first tower start to crumble. I ran to my bedroom window and watched as it collapsed, smoke rising into the sky. I was completely stunned, I couldn't think, I couldn't comprend what had just happened. I looked over to my boyfriend and said, "Did that really just happen? Did the tower really fall?" and he replied, "I don't know"
I watched the second tower fall to the ground and I watched as the dust settled and tried to remember where they stood, and what they looked like. I was (and still am) a confused mess of emotions. I went from being stunned and shocked, and not sure if I was dreaming, to crying and being sad and angry, to being numb. I couldn't eat and I couldn't sleep. I would have nightmares. I couldn't watch the news without crying. I withdrew from my boyfriend, friends and family.
As I watched the news, seeing the destruction and the people covered in dust and the sounds of the sirens and the silence that settled over the city as the dust began to settle, I thought to myself my life would never be the same.
I went to try to donate blood, but was turned down, because the hospital was full. The hospital told us to come back in a few days.
On the September 16th 2001 I went to Union Square with my best friend, and we each lit a candle and prayed. People had chalk and wrote the names of the missing loved ones on the ground. There was a wall with hundreds of pictures of people who were still missing. There was a shrine with thousands of candles, incents, pictures, paintings and letters, even a box with someone's shoes, who was still missing.
All over Times Square they had American flags.
The city was silent.
I was amazed at how the city came together on that horrible day.
I still feel sad and angry and shocked. Whenever I see a picture of the twin towers, I just want to cry, as all the images I had seen that day, replays through my mind.
When people talk like it was nothing, or it did not affect their lives, I feel hurt and angry with them.
My world changed on September 11th 2001 and so did yours.
You may not think that an event that happened in another town, city, state or even country could possible effect you. But mark my words; it will affect you in one-way or another.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. All people are connected in one way or another. We all will suffer when a place that is considered to be a free and liberal is smashed by oppressive forces.
As the body count, piles up and the dust settles we are only beginning to realize the scope of the damage inflicted upon us. Besides the obvious: hundred of thousands of lives lost, and hundreds of billions of dollars lost, and two amazing buildings lost and our lives permanently disrupted, this terrorist attack will have an impact on the psyche of the free world unlike anything we have ever seen in our life time.
This was not just an attack on some buildings. It was an attack on our way of life. It is an attack on the symbols of our freedom. When a few madmen can shake up a nation to the point where people are scared to live their lives, we know that we are in great danger. We have all felt that the good ol' USA was immune to terrorist acts of this scale.
How wrong were we?...............
I just hope that something good will come out of the countless lives lost and disrupted, and that we all can learn something from this massive scale catastrophe.
The fact that our enemy is invisible, and is hiding in the shadows, waiting to strike, they are patient, suicidal warriors trained in terror and will stop at nothing to inflict fear and sickness into our lives.
They want us to be scared and to change the way we live. They want us to cower in the corner, afraid of living life they way we are used to. Guerilla warfare may know no bounds, BUT American revenge knows no limits.
I had always wanted to see the bright lights of New York City. I never dreamed that one day I would actually get to see them.
On September 9th 2001 I was getting ready to go out with some friends to a "Puddle Of Mudd" concert at the Bowery Ballroom in Manhattan. I had no cares in the world that night, as I went out with my friends and had a good time. I would have never thought that with in the next day my entire world would be turned upside down, into a mass confusion of chaos and fear.
Now, almost 2 years later, I still am a confused ball of emotions. I have so many different thoughts about it, and yet I don't know what to say exactly.
Still, I have bad dreams, and sometimes get into a deep depression, as I think about all of the people that lost someone. I feel like I should have died to. I felt guilty that I was not there, or in the city that morning. I felt lucky that I did not loose anyone I loved.
I watched the twin towers burn and fall to the ground from my sixth floor bedroom apartment window.
I was shaken awake that morning by my boyfriend, who said "Look the trade center is on fire". I, half awake, looked out my bedroom window, in the direction of the world trade center, only to see one tower completely engulfed in black smoke.
My first thought was, that someone had flown way to close to the towers and smashed into it, I never thought for a second that by the end of the day, I would never see those towers again.
As I turned on my T.v. to see what was going on, my stomach turned upside down, when I heard that the pentagon was on fire as well.
When I walked over to my window and looked out, that's when I seen the second plane smash into the other tower and erupt in a huge fireball. I stood in shock, my hand over my mouth, as I realized I had screamed "NO! OH MY GOD!" I stood in complete shock, as I watched the fire burn.
I rushed to the phone desperately trying to call my family to let them know that I was ok, and that I was not in Manhattan, that I was in Queens. (Astoria, Queens New York) The phones were all busy. I got in touch with my family through out the day.
My boyfriends cousin Roxi, worked on Wall Street. I worried about where she was, and if she was trapped, or dead. Finally Roxi called and said she was on her way home.
That's when I turned back to the T.v. and watched the news. Soon they were showing over and over the same shot of the airplane smashing into the tower. Each time it got more surreal.
Once again I went back to my window, as I watched the smoke, I began to see what I thought were pieces of the building and the plane falling off of the towers, which I could not see very well, ...... only to realize it was people jumping and falling to their deaths.
I never thought for a second that those towers would ever fall. It never crossed my mind.
I was sitting and watching the news, as I hear more and more about what was happening, I started to realize this was an attack. This was no accident.
As I stared at the T.v. in shock, I heard a reporter on the T.v. scream "oh my god! Run!" and as I was looking at the T.v., I seen the first tower start to crumble. I ran to my bedroom window and watched as it collapsed, smoke rising into the sky. I was completely stunned, I couldn't think, I couldn't comprend what had just happened. I looked over to my boyfriend and said, "Did that really just happen? Did the tower really fall?" and he replied, "I don't know"
I watched the second tower fall to the ground and I watched as the dust settled and tried to remember where they stood, and what they looked like. I was (and still am) a confused mess of emotions. I went from being stunned and shocked, and not sure if I was dreaming, to crying and being sad and angry, to being numb. I couldn't eat and I couldn't sleep. I would have nightmares. I couldn't watch the news without crying. I withdrew from my boyfriend, friends and family.
As I watched the news, seeing the destruction and the people covered in dust and the sounds of the sirens and the silence that settled over the city as the dust began to settle, I thought to myself my life would never be the same.
I went to try to donate blood, but was turned down, because the hospital was full. The hospital told us to come back in a few days.
On the September 16th 2001 I went to Union Square with my best friend, and we each lit a candle and prayed. People had chalk and wrote the names of the missing loved ones on the ground. There was a wall with hundreds of pictures of people who were still missing. There was a shrine with thousands of candles, incents, pictures, paintings and letters, even a box with someone's shoes, who was still missing.
All over Times Square they had American flags.
The city was silent.
I was amazed at how the city came together on that horrible day.
I still feel sad and angry and shocked. Whenever I see a picture of the twin towers, I just want to cry, as all the images I had seen that day, replays through my mind.
When people talk like it was nothing, or it did not affect their lives, I feel hurt and angry with them.
My world changed on September 11th 2001 and so did yours.
You may not think that an event that happened in another town, city, state or even country could possible effect you. But mark my words; it will affect you in one-way or another.
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. All people are connected in one way or another. We all will suffer when a place that is considered to be a free and liberal is smashed by oppressive forces.
As the body count, piles up and the dust settles we are only beginning to realize the scope of the damage inflicted upon us. Besides the obvious: hundred of thousands of lives lost, and hundreds of billions of dollars lost, and two amazing buildings lost and our lives permanently disrupted, this terrorist attack will have an impact on the psyche of the free world unlike anything we have ever seen in our life time.
This was not just an attack on some buildings. It was an attack on our way of life. It is an attack on the symbols of our freedom. When a few madmen can shake up a nation to the point where people are scared to live their lives, we know that we are in great danger. We have all felt that the good ol' USA was immune to terrorist acts of this scale.
How wrong were we?...............
I just hope that something good will come out of the countless lives lost and disrupted, and that we all can learn something from this massive scale catastrophe.
The fact that our enemy is invisible, and is hiding in the shadows, waiting to strike, they are patient, suicidal warriors trained in terror and will stop at nothing to inflict fear and sickness into our lives.
They want us to be scared and to change the way we live. They want us to cower in the corner, afraid of living life they way we are used to. Guerilla warfare may know no bounds, BUT American revenge knows no limits.
Collection
Citation
“story9288.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 26, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/14497.