story4430.xml

story4430.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-11

My step-mom always watches the news in the morning, and usually she would turn it off before she left. On Sep. 11th, 2001 she left it on. The events hadn't happened by the time she left, so there was no particular reason for her to leave the TV on. I woke up and got ready for school like any other day, and I sat out by the TV as I put my shoes on. What I saw horrified me. People were crying and screaming; running away from a mountain of smoke. I had so many questions running through my head. Was it an accident? It seemed like it could be. But I watched in stunned silence as the second plane hit the second tower. I couln't believe what I was seeing. It could not be an accident. Who would do this to us? Why would somebody want to hurt our country? It was as if somebody ripped out the heart and soul of our country by attacking our homeland. My boyfriend, who is now currently serving in the United States Navy, came to pick me up. We were listening to the news on the radio. All the stations were broadcasting the news. We listened as people were reported jumping from the top floors of the towers. As soon as we arrived at school, we heard that another plane hit the Pentagon. The towers collapsed, killing so many. Another plane went down in a field in Pennsylvania - a heroic act by all people on that plane. So many lives were lost. We were dumbfounded. In stagecraft, we watched the news. In choir, we sang patriotic songs, in Government, we watched the news and talked about our feelings. It was a day of sadness and reflection. My friends and I went to Albertsons that day for lunch. We all piled into my friend's Jeep and drove in silence, listening to the news. After school, we sat in the parking lot for an hour, talking about what had happened. When I went home, I just sat and watched the news, slowly being joined by my family. We sat together around the television, crying about the utter sadness of the events unfolding around us. I wrote in my journal that night, about everything that had happened, and how unbelievable it was. Our lives have changed forever. America will never be the same.