nmah6843.xml

nmah6843.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2004-09-27

I will remember September 11, 2001 for as long as I live. I was teaching a 6th grade language arts class in Chattanooga, Tennessee that morning. Our resource officer opened the door to my classroom and said that they World Trade Center had just been hit with a plane. I shooed him off thinking that it was just another one of his ways to interrupt my class. A few minutes later, I walked by a door that adjoined another class with mine and saw their television on the news. I couldn't believe it. I turned the TV on in my classroom so that my students and I could see what was going on. As soon as we turned the TV on, the second plane hit. We watched in awe, and a few of my students wanted to know why. I didn't know what to tell them. Lunch began, and some students stayed in my class to watch. As the first tower came crashing down, I started to cry as well, as some of my students. We were all glued to the television. When the second tower came crashing down, I had to leave. I ran behind the school and cried until I couldn't breathe. I was so angry and questioned God. I composed myself before I had to return to my classroom so that I could be strong for the children. The only teaching that was done that day was a lesson in human nature and comforting. Two hours before school ended, we had a bomb threat called into our school. The entire school had to stand outside for hours while the fire dept. and police looked over the campus. The students were already upset and this just added to their horror. Parents were driving by, worried about their children, and it was hard for the teachers to contain behaviors that come out in frightened children.
After returning home, I realized that my Uncle worked at the pentagon and desperately tried to get in touch with someone. I later found out that he had just changed jobs and was no longer working in D.C.
One month later, I flew to Washington for a teacher's conference in Baltimore. This was my first trip to D.C. The entire city was too quite to be comfortable. I stayed on the other end of the mall from the Capitol building because of the recent anthrax scares. It was unsettling to see sharp-shooters on all the rooftops. Everytime a plane would fly close by, my hear would flutter. I also saw remenants of the trade center at the metro station. This brought me closer to the actual event.

My life has certainly changed. I think about Sept. 11th all the time and have a whole in my heart for all of the families that lost a loved one. Every year, as we are all reminded of the great losses, I still cry uncontrollably. My son was only 2 at the time, so I bought magazines about that day to save for him. I think it will be important for him to understand what America has gone through.

The most important thing that needs to be remembered is that we are free. Freedom came at a great cost, and it takes reminders like this one of how much is costs everyday. I think that we sometimes loose the fact that it has always been like this since we seperated from England. We will always be persecuted in some way for our freedoms.

I think that I had more red, white, and blue on my house and car than paint itself! I still fly the flag during national holidays, all summer, and especially on Sept. 11th. I have always had special pride in our flag, and cry whenever I see it flying high during the national anthem. I remember saying the pledge of allegiance to the flag when I was a kid at our local amusement park everytime the roller coaster would be pulled up the first hill. It was almost like a prayer.