story2355.xml
Title
story2355.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-11
911DA Story: Story
Turning the corner, nearing my third period classroom, my heart sank as I heard a whale from within. I ran in only to see my teacher, and two fellow students standing glued to a television screen in pure horror. When I saw the screen my jaw dropped, and I prayed for my heart to beat again. My eyes grew blurry, and I could feel the tears begin to stream down my cheeks. ?This can?t be happening,? I muttered through my tears. More students were filling in behind me, each one staring at the screen with their own horrid reaction. We stood together, staring as the once proud symbol of America, the World Trade Center towers, went up in smoke.
?Was it a bomb,? I can remember one student asking.
?It was a plane,? proclaimed another.
Suddenly, out of the corner of the screen, another plane emerged. Oh, God no, I screamed! We stood spell bound, and horrified as a second plane crashed into a second tower of dreams. With that, almost every student began to weep aloud. I looked around; there were now a good forty people in the classroom. Most of them I knew, but some were new faces that had pored into the room after hearing the commotion. Some people were crying on each other?s shoulders, some were hugging, but all of us were together. I had never seen anything like it, especially at such a prejudice school. Jocks, punks, rednecks, all standing together, being there for each other. The only label any of us had now was American. It was an incredible sight, but at the same time sad, that it took such a senseless tragedy to bring people together.
?Oh my God, look,? one student shouted. I turned back to the television, and felt my stomach flip. I froze in horror; I could feel the lump rising in my throat as I saw people jumping from the twin towers. They were jumping from the tops of the one hundred and ten story buildings. I felt like I was going to throw up for sure! These were people, human beings! These were mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends! The tears poured from my eyes, uncontrollably and I felt someone?s arms wrap around me.
?Everything is going to be all right,? I heard my good friend Matt say. I hadn?t even noticed him come in, but I was glad he was there. I felt guilty, for thinking about how happy I was that it wasn?t my loved ones there. How could I be so selfish, I thought to myself. More and more people were jumping from the windows now, and the sight was horrific!
?Holy shit,? one student screamed. There before my eyes, the twin towers crumbled to the ground. Matt pulled me closer as we cried together, for what seemed like a year. I was so glad to be with my friends, and the people I cared about. I knew that all my loved ones were safe, and that was a luxury that not everyone had. I thought about how horrid it must be, for the millions of people who knew someone in, or around the twin towers. I think I realized right then that our lives, as Americans would never be the same.
?Was it a bomb,? I can remember one student asking.
?It was a plane,? proclaimed another.
Suddenly, out of the corner of the screen, another plane emerged. Oh, God no, I screamed! We stood spell bound, and horrified as a second plane crashed into a second tower of dreams. With that, almost every student began to weep aloud. I looked around; there were now a good forty people in the classroom. Most of them I knew, but some were new faces that had pored into the room after hearing the commotion. Some people were crying on each other?s shoulders, some were hugging, but all of us were together. I had never seen anything like it, especially at such a prejudice school. Jocks, punks, rednecks, all standing together, being there for each other. The only label any of us had now was American. It was an incredible sight, but at the same time sad, that it took such a senseless tragedy to bring people together.
?Oh my God, look,? one student shouted. I turned back to the television, and felt my stomach flip. I froze in horror; I could feel the lump rising in my throat as I saw people jumping from the twin towers. They were jumping from the tops of the one hundred and ten story buildings. I felt like I was going to throw up for sure! These were people, human beings! These were mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends! The tears poured from my eyes, uncontrollably and I felt someone?s arms wrap around me.
?Everything is going to be all right,? I heard my good friend Matt say. I hadn?t even noticed him come in, but I was glad he was there. I felt guilty, for thinking about how happy I was that it wasn?t my loved ones there. How could I be so selfish, I thought to myself. More and more people were jumping from the windows now, and the sight was horrific!
?Holy shit,? one student screamed. There before my eyes, the twin towers crumbled to the ground. Matt pulled me closer as we cried together, for what seemed like a year. I was so glad to be with my friends, and the people I cared about. I knew that all my loved ones were safe, and that was a luxury that not everyone had. I thought about how horrid it must be, for the millions of people who knew someone in, or around the twin towers. I think I realized right then that our lives, as Americans would never be the same.
Collection
Citation
“story2355.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 14, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/17391.