Well, it's September 11th again. Everyone will be blogging about it today- and I am no exception. My blog isn't about the impact of the attack on the world, the terrorists, or even about Bush though. My blog is about my story, my day, and my feelings three years ago.
September 11th will be one of those "remember where you were when you heard about it" sort of events. Our parents have tons of them- "Remember where you were when you heard Kennedy got shot?" "Remember where you were when John Lennon was killed?" Now, this is our generations remember moment.
September 11, 2001. I just walked into my sophomore second period English class. It was about 9:12 am I'd say. I was early (highly unusual for me)- the only other person in the room was my good friend Stacy. She turned and asked me, "Did you see what happened?" I was actually going to say yes, thinking there had been some good fight out in the hall and I didn't want to be left out of it. However, I said no and asked what happened. "A plane just flew into one of the Twin Towers!" Twin Towers? What was there? Where was that? I gave her a blank look and told her to elaborate. She told me the plane hit a building in New York City. Her teacher in the class actually joked that maybe Ray Charles was flying the plane.
The teacher walked in and we yelled to her to turn on the TV. She didn't know anything about it. As students started to trickle into the room, we sat transfixed at CNN. First one plane, then another, then the Pentagon. One right after the other. What was going on? Although I realized it was a terrorist attack (I mean, it would be a pretty big coincidence for three planes to go down on the same day), I didn't really grasp what that ment. I didn't understand that America was technically under attack.
As the class watched, I remember one of the boys in the front saying, "I bet its China!" He wasn't serious, I think he was trying to be funny or something. I will always remember that though. It is so insignificant but stays in my memory for some reason.
After class ended, I went to math where the teacher did not allow us to watch the news. A lot of teachers were doing that I heard- not letting students watch the television. I guess they wanted us to try and focus on the day, which was nearly impossible.
In lunch, after math, I learned about the plane that crashed not far from here, in Somerset Pennsylvania. Somerset? Why would anyone want to crash a plane at Somerset? There's just fields there! No one at school had much information on that, it was just a rumor going around. Much later I would find out about Flight 93.
I went home and watched the news all night with my parents. I think everyone watched the news that night. I didn't have any homework, so the news was the only option. Practically every station was playing the footage over and over, and the stations that weren't just had a screen up that said something like, "Due to the attacks, we are discontinuing broadcast."
The next day, I saw one of my good friends. I asked her, "So, what'd you think?" She answered, unbelievably, "I don't see what the big deal is. Everyone is making it so big and important." I just looked at her and walked away. How could she say that? People died, we were attacked- I think that's a big deal! I never asked her about it, but maybe she had a bad attitude because she was upset and didn't want to talk about it anymore. I just don't believe that she actually couldn't have cared.
So, that is my story of September 11th. Other people's stories are much more interesting than mine, I know. People who were there, people who lost someone in the attacks- they have the heart-wrenching stories. But I know mine isn't sad or amazing. It is just mine. Yet no matter how simple our memories are of that day, they are all just as important.
Posted by VanessaKolberg at September 11, 2004 02:08 PM"My blog is about my story, my day, and my feelings three years ago."
Really, though, isn't the whole point of blogs, and maybe even life, your personal experiences and what you get out of it?
"Her teacher in the class actually joked that maybe Ray Charles was flying the plane."
Ouch!
"A lot of teachers were doing that I heard- not letting students watch the television. I guess they wanted us to try and focus on the day, which was nearly impossible."
Maybe it was to try to shelter students from the horror going on. Or perhaps themselves. That would be pretty difficult: the world's going crazy and you have a class of 30 some teens to contend with. I bet I would have turned off the TV as well!
"No one at school had much information on that, it was just a rumor going around. Much later I would find out about Flight 93."
Sometimes I think about that one... the rumor was that the plane was heading to Pittsburgh due to Pittsburgh having some of the top medicial facilities in the country, which just happen to be smack dab in the middle of Oakland, which is where I was that day. It's terrifying to think about it!
"So, that is my story of September 11th. Other people's stories are much more interesting than mine, I know. People who were there, people who lost someone in the attacks- they have the heart-wrenching stories. But I know mine isn't sad or amazing. It is just mine. Yet no matter how simple our memories are of that day, they are all just as important."
beautiful.
great post :c)
Striken with horror and shock, students cried and huddled together in hallways at my high school, and I was no exception. We had to shut off the televisions, too. Schools want to shelter us from real-life, but then we're stunned when it comes time to actually deal with it. Not mentioning that it's harder to be a kid today than it was 20 years ago...
9/11 will always be a day of remembrance for me. My step-uncle was in one of the towers. It's sad that it happened, and I think that it -should- be upsetting to people because this was an attack on our nation, and a great loss of human lives. I just hope that instead of focusing on issues that have taken the forefront from this tragic day, we can remember how it felt that day to feel threatened, sad, and defenseless--and to never let it happen again.
Posted by: Karissa at September 11, 2004 02:43 PMIt's a shame that your friend didn't care. I honestly did not realize the impact it would have on our nation when i first heard the news. My rememberance of September 11, 2001 follows just like yours. I watched and watched and watched the horrifying images on tv and read the newspaper the next day. For some reason, i just received the same information over and over again. It was a wonderful story, Vanessa.
Posted by: Laura at September 11, 2004 04:26 PMNessa, I'm leaving my first comment on your blog! Everything at HAHS seemed to suspend in time whenever the plane hit the towers. I remember not knowing what happened until 3rd perion in Mr. Cups honors history class. He just stood there and stared at the TV without making a sound. I'll never forget that day, it's scary to think we were only Sophomores then and now we're in college. Time flies. Beautiful entry, see you tomorrow in class. <3
Posted by: Stormy at September 12, 2004 09:30 PMNessa, I'm leaving my first comment on your blog! Everything at HAHS seemed to suspend in time whenever the plane hit the towers. I remember not knowing what happened until 3rd perion in Mr. Cups honors history class. He just stood there and stared at the TV without making a sound. I'll never forget that day, it's scary to think we were only Sophomores then and now we're in college. Time flies. Beautiful entry, see you tomorrow in class. <3
Posted by: Stormy at September 12, 2004 09:30 PMAt you the excellent site, a lot of useful info and good design, thank.
Posted by: Rokko at March 20, 2006 07:37 AM