Where Were You On 9/11?

With all the news coverage of 9/11, it got me to thinking about 9/11/01. I remember very vividly where I was.

I was in the car with my parents when the morning radio show announced that a plan had hit one of the Twin Towers. I remember thinking that was a crazy plane accident and someone at Boeing was going to lose their job over this. I didn't think much of it though.

I went to my JROTC classroom. Everyone was glued to the television, watching CNN. After about 5 minutes of watching, my perception completely changed. I realized that it wasn't just a really bad plane crash; it was a terrorist attack that was planned and was likely to get worse before it got better. Then the second plane hit. There was talk of more attacks but they didn't know where yet.

My high school was very close to downtown Chicago. My parents both worked downtown, as did many family members of many classmates. We were very scared because of all the unknown unknowns. We sat there and watched in horror as the first tower fell. People who were unable to get through on their cells to family members in New York,Chicago, D.C., and L.A. started to freak out and had to be calmed down. The thought of going to class really wasn't on anyone's minds.

I didn't go to my next class, but I did go to my third class because I knew that teacher would be holding class no matter what was going on. I was correct, he was holding class. In the middle of learning physics, my parents told me downtown was being evacuated and I should gather my things so they could pick me up on the way home. I gladly informed my teacher I was leaving for the day.

There is a bridge that crosses over the street between two of the buildings of my high school. If you stand right in the middle of the bridge facing downtown, you can see all the way to the Willis Sears Tower. I stood there for a moment on my way to get my stuff, imagining what it would be like if something were to happen to that big building in my big city. It was too much to think about, so I quickly moved on to the agreed meeting place for my parents and I.

They picked me up and we grabbed some food on the way home. We spent the rest of the evening watching coverage on all the news channels. We did that every evening for a long time. That video of the cameraman running away from the falling building as the debris and smoke clouds envelope him is forever seared in my memory. I was surprised how accurately I remembered it when it was shown again in 10 year anniversary coverage of that day.

In the years since 9/11, I've been actively trying not to remember the pain of that day. Much like the day my college boyfriend died and the day my great-grandmother died, I try to do things that day that refuse to acknowledge the deep emotions I'd feel if I stopped for even a moment to think.

This year has been different though. In the days leading up to 9/11, I remembered the pain. I felt small bits of hope when people who suffered personally find ways to rise above the ashes. And I found myself fascinated to hear what others were doing in those moments that changed America. What were you doing on 9/11? What have you been doing on 9/11 the last 10 years?