nmah5152.xml

nmah5152.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2002-09-24

I was a seventh grader in Junior High. I woke up like normal. I live on the west coast, in California, so when I was just waking up, the attack was already in full swing. My mom told me planes had hit the WTC. And then, the one thing I will always remember- where I was that tragic day, just as my parents had told me about the tragic day of J.F.K.'s assassination. I stared at terror. Two huge building, which size I couldn't even comprehend, with huge gaping holes in them and smoke billowing out. It was horrific. Even as a kid, it stuck me in a way that is indescribable. I sat there, feeling so helpless, eating my breakfast. I felt like I had to tell someone, but I couldn't. I felt so small. Then as I took another bite, "Apparently there has been an explosion of some type at the Pentagon." said the news anchor. Then I see our central military building with, just as at the WTC, billowing smoke coming out of it. As I walked back to get dressed, just before I went into the bathroom, 2 WTC began to fall away. As I switch to NBC, ABC, and CBS news, I saw it was true. Right before my eyes, so many people lost their lives. Slowly I began to realize just how many lives had been lost. Firefighters, rescue workers, police, WTC workers, the list is endless. Then, in the bathroom, my mom yelled, "Another plane crashed!" I ran out. The news anchor said it crashed in a Pennsylvania field. It didn't hit a target, but still had cost lives. I went to school feeling a little on edge. The school was already buzzing with information. Our teacher turned on our closed circuit TV. A blurred picture came up of a news man on a tall building in NY with military jets whizzing by overhead. Immediately after school, the first thing I asked my mom was "Did the second building collapse?" "Yes." she replied. I went home and looked all over the internet for information as the TV went on with the day's tragic event.

On the west coast we, of course, feel a difference, I'm sure not as much as those in New York, but everybody changed with the world. Of course we've felt the security measures taken and the sharp change in TV, movies, sports, and basic entertainment. That year was not measured by 2001 or 2002, it was measured by the one haunting date... 9/11.

We of course need to remember the heroes and every last person who lost their lives, but I also think we need to remember the massive scale that this disaster was. This is a huge mark in America's history.

We of course flew a flag. My feeling for it did change too. I already had so much respect for it, but I gained something. Now every time I see a flag, the colors- red, white, and blue, look so incredibly strong to me.