Remembering September 11, 2001

I was in the middle of Home Economics class during my sophomore year of high school. We were taking an exam when an administrator came in to talk to our teacher. I remember her gasping and putting her hand over her mouth and then the administrator left. We only had a few minutes left of the class but I could hear the kids near the front of the class whispering amongst themselves. The whispering eventually got back to us and my friend who sat next to me stated that there was some sort of bombing at the White House. The bell rang and I headed to my US History and government class where kids were already crowded around the teacher's desk. He got us to sit down and told us that he didn't have all the information but apparently a couple of planes were being hijacked by terrorists out of New York. Two or three kids immediately became upset and began taking their cell phones out. They stated that they either had family up in New York right now or that a family member was flying out of or into New York. One of them began sobbing because she had just received a text saying that were not able to reach her father yet and wasn't sure if he was okay. The teacher excused these kids to make phone calls in the hallway. He also announced that there would be no lesson plans today because the school was being evacuated and everyone was going to be sent home. Me being unable to grasp the gravity of the situation was ecstatic about the prospect of being able to go home for the day and my girlfriend and I giggled in excitement. Sure enough, announcements over the intercom began dismissals and I came home to see that my brother had just gotten back with two of his high school friends (We attended different high schools). We all grabbed some food and huddled around the TV to relax and have a casual afternoon. All we could see on every channel was smoke coming out from one of the twin towers. We weren't originally intending on watching the news but every single channel was following the attacks in New York. Within minutes of us turning on the TV, the second tower was hit. This was a bit of a reality check for me. I was thinking, "Holy shit, are they going to come down to Delaware and start crashing into our buildings as well?" We continued to stay glued to the screen and hear the reporters shocked reactions live and obviously our disbelief deepened when the towers began to collapse. It was surreal and I felt as if we were living in a movie. None of us in the room said a word. At one point the reporter began to call these series of events "The worst attack on Americans in history" and I remember thinking, "I can't believe I'm experiencing this. This is the kind of stuff I study in history textbooks." My brother's two friends eventually were being called home by their parents and my mother and father shortly arrived. They were particularly stunned and affected because New York city had been their home for ten years. My parents spent the rest of the afternoon calling all their loved ones in New York trying to make sure that they were okay. That evening, we gathered around the kitchen table and my mother asked us to join hands as she led us into prayer for those affected by the attacks. I spent the rest of the evening wondering why people would do such a horrible thing to us. If this was some sort of war-related attack, why were innocent civilians being targeted? Were the attacks finished or were there more on the way? I was so confused. I kept getting the feeling that somehow the world was now changed and it scared me. That night, I got up and knocked on my brother's door. He was awake as well and told me to come on in. He turned on his computer and we watched episodes of Fresh Prince of Bel-air that he had downloaded. As sleep finally began to creep in and blanket my perplexed mind, I gave up trying to make sense of it all and closed my eyes as Carlton busted out his famous dance moves in the perfect land of TV -- where planes were not hijacked, buildings did not collapse, and people did not die. Unlike many others, I would have tomorrow and many more days, God willing, to figure it all out.

Where were you on September 11, 2001?