story1339.xml

story1339.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-08-20

I was at my high school on the morning of September 11th. I was on my way to 2nd hour when a friend came up to me and told me that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. It's a little pathetic- but at that time, I didn't even know what the World Trade Center was. I believe I responded with a, "Oh no way!" and went about my way. Well a few minutes later, the live coverage was on every t.v. in the building. Kids were walking through the halls crying, some people called their parents to go home, and the worst thing--a mother came into the school crying to get her daughter saying that their father, who was in NYC for buisiness, had a meeting that morning in the World Trade Center. That's when I began to realize how serious this was. I became afraid for my father, who works Downtown Chicago. Once the news came that another plane had hit the Pentagon, I grew scared for my Aunt who I knew was flying into Dulles Airport in D.C. that morning. I couldn't believe what was happening, and all I wanted to do was go home and see my family. When I did get home that night, I was relieved to see that my dad had stayed home from work that morning, and that both my parents were safe. My sister was away at college and we got in contact with her to be sure she was safe. However- nobody could contact my aunt. The next few hours were horrible...my mom and I went out to the local grocery store and bought gallons of water because we didn't know what to expect, and we checked our cell phones every 30 seconds to see if someone had called with news of our Aunt. We finally got ahold of her that evening, and she told us that she was pretty much stuck in a hotel in Downtown D.C.- that she didn't even want to go onto the streets because it was so chaotic down there. I've never been happier to know that every member of my family was safe and well. That night I just sat up forever crying, and listening to the rest of my family cry...there are no words. I know I'm only 16 and have alot to learn in life- but I do know that Tuesday, September 11th is a day that I will never forget.