September 11, 2001 will be a day that will always be branded in my mind. I was 11 years old and I will never forget the terror on my friends face as she ran into my house before we left to catch the bus yelling at me to turn on the t.v. As i wondered what one Earth she was so upset about and why she couldn't say a word, I did. As soon as I got to the news, images of the North World Trade Center Tower were being played. All of Manhattan looked as if it was in smoke. I immediately was scared, in shock, and almost in complete disbelief. Is this real? What is happening? and then I thought of my mom and how she was raised there, my grandfather and aunt used to work there every day. I immediately grabbed her and brought her into the room. Her reaction was much worse than mine; she was in complete disbelief. She immediately started crying as she began shaking and calling my grandfather and grandmother. We only had a few minutes to get to the bus and I did not want to leave her. Not only was I scared but I could not immagine the pain she was in. The many friends she was worried for and if they were okay?? As we all stood there frozen, the second plane flew into the World Trade Center. My mom fell into the couch and my friend and I began to fill with tears. She told us to leave, we needed to get to school. I couldn't move and she immediately became even more upset. My grandfather and grandmother were obviously just as confused on the other line. My friend and I finally ran to our bus, caught it, and for all those who did not know why everyone was in a frenzy, they immediately found out. The bus driver had it on the radio and we all became silent listening intently.... It was eerie.... When we arrived at school, it was just the same. Classes were delayed as all the tvs were on and we watched in disbelief. Soon we were shocked to see the tower begin to fall... Who did this? Why? The people? The families? Children's fathers? Are there schools close by? I prayed for them and what they were going through. As I continued to watch a strange surge of anger came over me that I had never felt before.. and still have never felt again. I knew no matter what, this was not accident, and whoever did this needed to pay the price. The rest of the day at school was very slow, quiet, and everyone was down. When I finally went home, I walked in the house and saw my mom and the same spot I left her. We both were speechless and I went down and sat with her. Dinner that night was very quiet... We were all still in shock and over the next few days the t.v was constantly long as my mom watched the names scroll across the screen hoping that someone she knew was not a part of the list...
I will never forget that day and I am so thankful for our heroes: the firefighters, policemen, and other people, who sacrificed their lives to help others. My heart also goes out to all the families who lost someone in the attack and those who I know had a much more terrifying experience than I did being there. That day also made me realize how close are country is and that I have something very big in common with everyone here, that I am an American and I am very proud to be one.
