story10405.xml

story10405.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2004-01-31

I was awoken by my alarm at 5:30 on the morning of Tuesday September 11th 2001. It seemed like any other, I rushed to get ready to catch the bus to school. My first period class began at 7:25, I ran into class with seconds to spare-not knowing that, on this day I was going to have far more to worry about than being late. Waiting for class to end our teacher turned to Good Morning America- as we were watching it those last few minutes of class we saw at 8:45 AM United Airlines Flight 175 crash into the South tower of the World Trade Center. In horror we all looked at eachother-looking around the room I saw shock all over my classmates faces. We all thought it was some horrible accident. The principal came over the loudspeaker and announced that we were to report to our homerooms, we returned there and sat and watched the morning news live from NY, at 9:03 AM- the second plane crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, then we knew this wasn't some horrible accident. Watching that second plane hit that building is something I will never forget as long as I live, it glided through it like the building was made of air, and then there was a huge fireball. Then I thought there are floors above where this plane had hit, how are they going to get out? As I looked at my fellow classmates most of us at that time only 15 or 16 years old, sat that and came to the shocking realization that our country was under attack. We continued to watch the news until we started seeing people jump from the buildings some holding hands, some women holding there skirts and dresses down as they were dropping to their deaths. All I could think was, these poor people, who would do this? I became terrified, I tried calling my parents but couldn't reach them. At about 9:20 we went to our second period classes, all of us in shock and disbelief, and many of us very confused.
Then around the same time we were told to turn on our TV's again- we watched the President of the United States state words that I will never forget "The country has suffered an apparent terrorist attack." About 20 minutes later we were told to again turn on our TV's, where they announced that the Pentagon had been struck by a third plane. The room became silent, no one said a word, we now knew it was more than just an attack on our economic capital, it was an attack on our entire country-and we didnt know if we'd be next. Then around 10 after 10 we heard wispers that the South Tower had collapsed! By then I was terrified this was real, this wasn't something that was a horrible accident, we were being attacked, a country I always thought was undestructable, untouchable, and strong-and no one could touch us. Then we heard that around 10:20 another plane had crashed in a desolate area in Penn. I thought will this ever end? There are planes crashing all over the eastern US, I was terrified for my life, and that of my family-my father working in Rhode Island at the time, reached me by cell phone to tell me he was fine,and was coming to get me. At 3:00 pm that day when I saw my father and I ran into his arms, I cried harder than I ever had before, I was 15 yrs old, and I was completely terrified. I then knew we were a very easy target.
Now 18, and looking back on it almost two and 1/2 years later, I think it made a lot of us, at least myself grow up a lot more quickly than we had to. I appreciate a lot more now, those who risk their lives everyday to protect ours, and especially those who were in those towers, innocent civilians instantly turned into heros. I will never forget that day as long as I live, my father later told me it was the biggest attack on American soil since the attack on pearl harbor almost a half century earlier. This day will never leave my mind, it seems like yesterday was the day that changed the America forever.