nmah1816.xml

nmah1816.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-09

On September 11, I was at school. I remember being in third period geometry class. One of my friends ran in and said that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. We didn't really know anything else besides that. When I went to fourth period history, almost everyone in our school knew about it already. Our history teacher turned on the news and we saw what had happened. Shortly after that, another history teacher ran in and said that a second plane had crashed. We were all confused. I remember my teacher saying that if anyone needed to go to guidance they could. Then a girl in my class started hysterically crying and left. It was really sad. Later that day, there was announcements over the loud speaker about it. The whole rest of the day was a big blur. I remember on the bus we were talking about who could have done it. That was the first time I had ever heard the name Osama bin Laden. When I got home me and my brother watched the news for the rest of the night. Later my older brother came to stay with us because he lives right outside NYC and we didn't know if there would be another attack.

I learned not to take anything for granted. So many people died that day. A man that I baby-sit for is a police officer who was in the WTC when it collapsed. He went one way and his partner went the other way. He lived, his partner died. I now appreciate the little things in life. You never know what is going to happen tomorrow. Live life to the fullest and live one day at a time.

I think that it should always be remembered how many innocent people lost their lives. Also, how the USA banded together after the attacks. There were flags outside of almost every house that I passed. Everyone was so patriotic. It also reminded us how much hate and violence really exists in the world. We all know it exists to some extent but I never thought it would happen this big and so close to home. For people in the Middle East, this is not a rare thing, it happens everyday. It opened our eyes to how much hate is really in the world. The firefighters, policemen, and everyone else that helped should never be forgotten. I remember seeing on the news a long line of volunteers waiting to help search through the rubble. So many people were willing to help.

My family flew an American flag after September 11. Some of my family members had to go out and buy one and I remember them saying how hard it was to find one. All the stores were sold out. I appreciate the American flag more now. I never used to be real patriotic before. I mean I celebrated the Fourth of July, Memorial Day and all the other patriotic holidays, but I was a typical teenager and never really thought much about these holidays. Now I have more appreciation for them.