story9560.xml

story9560.xml

born-digital

story

yes

no

2003-09-10

On September 11, 2001, I was sitting in my sophomore scripture class at Boston College High School. During first period, an unexpected announcement came over the loud speaker that brought the entire school to a bone-chilling silence. We were informed that the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York had been struck by two airplanes in an act of terrorism. I remember my teacher's mouth dropping open. After the announcement was finished, there wasn't a sound made on the entire floor. No one began talking for a few minutes. My teacher eventually tried to calm any fears we might have had at the moment.
After the period ended, I remember going to the library for my free period to find a computer but I don't think there was a vacant one in the entire school. As I sat in the library I remember some of the rumors that were going around the school, either just made up or false reports on the internet. "There are still nine planes missing in the sky", "Boston is supposed to be another target". This news was shocking and terrifying as what used to be Boston Gas had an enormous gas tank located on the same boulevard as my school. All throughout the day I remember seeing worried parents arriving at school and picking up their kids in fear of an attack on Boston. I stayed in school and remember that every time a plane was heard overhead the school went quiet. My high school is right beneath the route that planes take to land at Logan Airport, which is where the planes that crashed into the Trade Centers originated from. I remember my math teacher was very emotional over the event and many other teachers either dismissed their classes or just took the class time to inform the students of exactly what was happening.
When the last bell of the day rang, teachers and faculty members lined the hallways telling the students that they had to get their books and leave as soon as they could. When I got home at 3:00, I finally got to watch the atrocity on TV for the first time. It was the most awful sight that I had ever seen in my life. The documentaries and magazines that came out in the ensuing months reinforced the feelings of disgut and hate towards the revolting act. It is an image that I will never be able to forget.