story7754.xml
Title
story7754.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-17
911DA Story: Story
September 11th affected me in several ways. I remember exactly how that day went, what I was doing before, during, and after that attack. It was a blue day, so I had my 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th period classes that day. I had just gotten out of my 2nd period pre-calculus class and was headed up to visit my guitar teacher just to stop by and say hi. As I walked in the door to his classroom, I noticed that everyone in there was just standing and staring at the TV screen. I nudged my way through the crowd and found out what was wrong. I couldn?t believe my eyes; the World Trade Centers were burning.
It was truly unbelievable. These two pillars of American pride were in flames. I recall running from that room and into my German teacher?s room just incase she didn?t know. She wasn?t there, but the TV was on, so I knew that the word had spread. As I had run to her room, I was telling everyone I saw what had happened, most didn?t believe me, and one, I recall, didn?t seem to care. Then, as class started, my German teacher walked into the room and just started watching the TV. We had no idea what was happening.
People slowly realized what was happening and began to understand how big of a catastrophe this was. Our teacher at various times started commenting on how she viewed all this, but as soon as she started, it seemed like something new developed, causing her to shut up once more. Then we heard news that a plane hit the pentagon and another was on the way. That?s when everyone felt the tragedy hit home. This was in our backyard! Many students in my class started crying since their parents worked at the Pentagon. My friend realized that her father might have been at the Pentagon on that day and got even more worried. I accompanied her to the office so she could call her father and make sure he was all right. On the way back, we stopped at her brother?s classroom to convey the message to him.
This was one of the most horrendous things ever in American history. Afterwards, I can remember the intense sense of depression that plagued everyone in the halls. Everyone was upset and could think of nothing other than the events of September 11. Never before had we suspected that terrorism could strike this close to us, but alas, it had. It was apparently time to bring things into perspective. The very next day, I remembered everyone had on red, white and blue. And it seemed that one could not step outside the house without being ambushed by flags. Patriotism was at a high point. But the sad part of this is that it takes a national disaster to unite this country. Only through tragedy does politics get put aside and companionship embraced. But at least we have that sense of patriotism. It may not always show, but its there.
It was truly unbelievable. These two pillars of American pride were in flames. I recall running from that room and into my German teacher?s room just incase she didn?t know. She wasn?t there, but the TV was on, so I knew that the word had spread. As I had run to her room, I was telling everyone I saw what had happened, most didn?t believe me, and one, I recall, didn?t seem to care. Then, as class started, my German teacher walked into the room and just started watching the TV. We had no idea what was happening.
People slowly realized what was happening and began to understand how big of a catastrophe this was. Our teacher at various times started commenting on how she viewed all this, but as soon as she started, it seemed like something new developed, causing her to shut up once more. Then we heard news that a plane hit the pentagon and another was on the way. That?s when everyone felt the tragedy hit home. This was in our backyard! Many students in my class started crying since their parents worked at the Pentagon. My friend realized that her father might have been at the Pentagon on that day and got even more worried. I accompanied her to the office so she could call her father and make sure he was all right. On the way back, we stopped at her brother?s classroom to convey the message to him.
This was one of the most horrendous things ever in American history. Afterwards, I can remember the intense sense of depression that plagued everyone in the halls. Everyone was upset and could think of nothing other than the events of September 11. Never before had we suspected that terrorism could strike this close to us, but alas, it had. It was apparently time to bring things into perspective. The very next day, I remembered everyone had on red, white and blue. And it seemed that one could not step outside the house without being ambushed by flags. Patriotism was at a high point. But the sad part of this is that it takes a national disaster to unite this country. Only through tragedy does politics get put aside and companionship embraced. But at least we have that sense of patriotism. It may not always show, but its there.
Collection
Citation
“story7754.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 19, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/16637.