story876.xml

story876.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-07-10

When the events of 9/11 occurred I was in my high school english class. We had been doing research for a paper and were on the computers and internet. I was sitting next to one of my friends who was talkin through AOL Instant Messenger to a teacher working at the tech office at our elementary school. The teacher sent a message that the World Trade Center buildings had been hit by a plane. At first it was hard to believe and I thought that it must have been a small single engine plane that had gone out of control. We began searching the internet for instant news and information. After a few minutes we found some news info and pictures of the planes flying towards the towers. At this moment I was suprised to see that it was actually a large passenger plane. We said something to our teacher and went into the office where there was a television and we turned on the news, and watched it until the end of class. This was the main topic at our school for the rest of our day, and I watched it on the news all night. These whole events come as a real shock to me because I have visited New York for the past three summers. During the first two years the World Trade Centers were always a nice resting spot for us. We would sit between the towers near the fountain and admire the view. Jus las week we again visited New York City and visited Groundzero. It was a very emotional experience. The cross made from the steel beam stands as a reminder to all of this horrific and tragic event and is symbolic of all the lives lost. The whole area had been cleaned up and it just looked like a large construction site. They had begun rebuilding one of the underground tunnels, but besides that it looked just like a 60 foot deep hole in the ground. I was deeply moved by the shrine to those who lost their lives that was set up in the churchyard nearby. I am sure that I will always remember the events of 9/11, but I will never ever understand them.