September 11, 2001 – What Do You Remember?

Today every media outlet from major international news to the local cable access shows will be recapping, analyzing, and grieving over the events that took place in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania.  Every website, freelance writer, and blogger will put up some sort of column in remembrance of those who were killed, and giving their condolences to the families who survive them.  There will be millions upon millions of Facebook statuses, Tweets, Tumbles, Stumbles, and Pins sharing some sort of message reminding the world to ‘Never Forget’ the events that transpired on 9/11.

The thing I have the most trouble grasping is that this occurred 11 years ago.  I am 22 years old.  I’ve lived half of my life post 9/11.  Although there’s never a good time for an event like this to happen, I believe I was around the right age to understand what happened while it was happening.

I remember sitting in my homeroom.  Kathleen Hayes-Parvin was my teacher.  An announcement from the principle came on over the PA system directing the teachers to stop what they were doing and turn on the news in every classroom, there had been an accident in New York City.  I remember it was a national news channel, whether it was MSNBC, FOX, or CNN, I could not tell you.  I remember watching smoke billowing out of a hole in one of the Twin Towers.  Although I knew where New York was, some of the history of the city, and some of its landmarks, I had never heard of these towers before.  I still thought the tallest building in the city was the Empire State Building.  I remember reports frantically trying to gather information, hypothesize how and why a plane had flown into the building.  I remember hearing that this had happened once before, but it was only a small plane accident last time, not a full-sized jumbo jet.  Then I remember seeing an explosion, the second tower being stuck.  Attitudes changed then, this was no longer being treated like a tragic freak accident.  This was an attack.  I remember the stunned and scared look on my teachers face, looking around the classroom and seeing the confused, attempting-to-comprehend faces on my classmates faces.  We sat in our classrooms for what felt like hours, doors closed, lights dimmed, all staring at the television until the two towers collapsed.  Shortly after the PA system started going off every 30 seconds, telling one child after another their parents were here to pick them up.  I was one of the last 4 left in my class when I got the call to go home.  I wasn’t really scared.  There was nobody I knew of currently in New York.  The attacks seemed like they were over, and they seemed like they happened so far away.  I simply went home, ate lunch, and watched as our country tried to wrap their minds around the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of the days events.

Now it’s all of your turns.  What exactly do you remember?  I want to hear from EVERYBODY who reads this, especially those a few years younger and older than me.  What was your level of understanding?  How were you feeling at the time?  How did those around you react?  Tell me your story below.

R.I.P. to all of those who lost their lives in the tragedies of September 11, 2001, and in the conflicts that have resulted from it.  My prayers go to out to the families who lost someone that day.