It took me about 60 seconds to realize what I needed to write about today, and that was still way too long. I feel selfish that I almost started writing about something else without even realizing today is 9/11.
That date will be one of the most significant dates that our future generations will learn about. Most of us still remember exactly what we were doing at that very moment when we first saw or heard that a terrorist attack had happened.
I was in 8th grade. I remember clearly thinking something weird was going on because my classmates kept getting pulled out of school. I went to history class around 10 AM and my teacher just started to cry in the middle of talking. None of us really knew why, we just assumed there was some underlying issue with family.
Afterwards, he decided to dress up in a theatre costume and act out a play because he didn’t feel that day was worth spending on a new lesson. We were totally okay with that too, however, his acting was from some play that no one in class even knew so we all just stared and threw in a fake laugh here and there.
When the bell rang for our 5 minute period before our next class we all stood up, walked into the hallway, looked at each other for a minute, and said "what is going on?" Everyone was confused but we headed to our next class. For me it was Spanish.
This is when I found out the truth behind Mr. MacDonald’s awkward tears and theatrical reenactments. We completely understood why too, even at this age we knew he had tried to avert our minds to something funny and happy because he knew we were about to hear something tragic and terrible.
I don’t think any of my teachers wanted to share the news about the twin towers, I wouldn’t have wanted to either, but by the time I reached Spanish, which was 3rd period – there was no way around it. There were only about 6 people left out of class around 25. We watched anxiously as she pulled the TV cart to the front of the class and plugged it in.
Every station was playing loops of the hijacked planes crashing into the WTC buildings and showing graphic footage of the debris crashing to the ground with people scrambling to safety. I remember feeling two things, fear and compassion. I couldn’t believe what was going on or even fathom how people were able to pull something like this off. There were so many injured and thousands killed in what seemed like a blink of an eye.
It was scary to see and even scarier to think what was going to happen next. I prayed and prayed, and shortly after my mother picked up me and my sisters from school. I think they may have even closed the district early.
My mom kept telling us everything would be okay and to pray for the many, many, families that were affected.
This was a day that America would never forget. It has shaped our nation, proven to us why Freedom is worth fighting for, and will be forever engraved in our memories.
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