story9447.xml

story9447.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2003-08-30

I was in History of Music class at Berklee College of Music on the morning of September 11, 2001. When the class let out at 11 AM, there were postings all over the doors saying "Due to Terrorist Attacks, Classes have been cancelled." My friend and I thought it was some joke and we ripped the fliers off of the doors and headed to our next class. There was an eerie fear welling up inside of my body. I stared at the Prudential Building looming above my head, then back at the flier, then back at the building and assumed that a terrorist had attacked downtown Boston. When I got to the Mass. Avenue building, I noticed the doors were plastered with the fliers. Upon entering the building I noticed how quiet and empty it was save for a radio blaring the news on the security guards desk. An aquaintance ran up to me hysterical, in tears, and told me that the World Trade Towers had been bombed and were gone. I was in disbelief. What kind of bomb had it been? Was all of lower Manhattan gone? How many thousands of people must've perished! My hands started trembling. My first thought was to get out of the shadow of our own skyscrapers to my apartment. I quickly left and began to walk to my apartment.
The air that morning was absolutely brilliant. A perfect fall day. I stared at the crisp blue sky where every morning I would watch airplanes fly over the city as they took off from Logan Airport. With each breath, the scent of my cologne reinforced that memory. Had I watched the fated planes that morning? All along the street people were on their cell phones and talking about the attacks. Everyone was somber, walking slowly in the usually bustling street. The words terrorism and war coming from these strangers frightened me. The panic on their faces chilled me. I got home and turned on my television and cried at the sight. I frantically tried to call my family in Virginia to tell them that I was ok, but my cell phone was jammed and service on the telephone would come and go. Later in the day we took a drive around the city. F-16s were speeding across the sky and with the sound of each approaching, my heart dropped, my eyes studied the skies and all I could think was that a plane was bound for downtown. I spent most of the remainder of the day staring out of my apartment at the Boston skyline wondering if it would be there in the morning, watching the horrific events on the television over and over. The news flashed terror warnings for the Boston subway and for the Financial District. Several college students in my building were standing at the elevator leaving for home in fear that evening.
The following day, each class was spent talking about the attacks. In one small class, two students began to cry and the professor excused them. All I could think of is that it felt like a dream.
Later that evening, I joined in a candle light vigil at The Christian Science Plaza. Seeing thousands of stragers standing in silence, praying, crying and fearful has been one of the most moving moments of my life.
In the coming days, the city was in fear. It was announced that the terrorists may have had a cell at the Westin Hotel and hundreds of people were crowded in the streets to see what was happening. Police blocked off streets and the already traffic jammed Back Bay became impassable.

Looking back on September 11th, 2001, I feel myself and the entire country had an overwhelming feeling of helpless and mourning. I have never been an extremely patriotic person, but on that day I felt connected to each and every person I saw. We had shared in an historic event that will be documented forever. I will never forget the crystal blue skies of that September morning and the feeling that something so terrible could not have happened on such a lovely day.