A High School Student and Her Experiences on September 11, 2001

Like a lot of other people, I was shocked and saddened by the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. Like a lot of other people, I wondered how such a thing could happen in the United States. Lastly, like so many others, I can still remember exactly where I was and what I did on that dreadful day. A day that at first seemed like any ordinary day in my life, but which soon became one that no one will ever forget. It is time for me to share with everyone about my experiences on the worst day imaginable. This is what happened to me on September 11, 2001.

I was a sixteen year old junior student in high school, though my birthday was a mere seventeen days away. As I headed off to Crystal Lake South High School that day, I was not concerned about anything out of the ordinary taking place. My only thoughts were of taking classes, doing schoolwork, and getting through the day like I normally would. My first class, physics, went on as usual without any signs of anything amiss going on. Afterward, I went to study hall in the school cafeteria, and with nothing really to do at that time, I would simply relax until my next class began. It was just before the bell for second period rang, however, that things started to take a turn for the worse.

The school had a feature known as the musical minute, which played whatever was on the radio during the final minute before the bell rang. As I sat at a table and listened to the radio, I heard news about some sort of airplane hijacking that took place, but I did not hear a good amount of information. I figured that I would learn more about it later. What I was about to find out was that I would find out the horrific details much sooner rather than later. Some instructors turned on the television screens, and I saw the World Trade Center in flames. Since I could not hear the televisions well, I initially thought that the Twin Towers had somehow caught on fire due to some accident that happened inside. Before long, however, the truth would become quite apparent: it was no accident at all, but the work of terrorists who flew the planes into the buildings, causing them to catch fire. As I would soon find out, the worse was yet to come.

My third period Spanish class suspended its lessons in favor of having the students watch more news coverage of the attacks. By the time we joined the coverage, the first tower had already collapsed. I actually watched in horror as the other tower fell right as it happened. It was just before 9:30 A. M. Central Time, and it was a terrible sight. As the day wore on, I found out about the other details of the terrorist attacks: the attack on the Pentagon, the crash in Pennsylvania, and the overall shock felt by people all over the United States. Most of my classes also canceled their lesson plans and simply had the students watching the news for further developments. At one point during my history class, there was an announcement over the intercom that encouraged students to seek counseling if they had been affected by the tragic events of the day. All in all, it was a deeply saddening day for us all.

That afternoon, when I got on the bus to get back home, I heard the radio of an announcer covering the events of the day, finishing up by telling his listeners to have "a day, not a good day." When I got back home, there were my parents, who had also been watching coverage of the terrorist attacks. It turned out that my father had awaken my mother with the sad news, and they had been watching the news ever since. During that moment, and throughout the day, I wondered, what happens now? Would our country suffer another, far worse attack? Was World War III imminent? Was my life about to change forever as a result of all this? Luckily, an attack of such a heavy magnitude has not occurred on our soil since then, but to this day, I fear that it might happen again, possibly in a much worse way.

More than eight years have passed since that horrible day, and I have recovered from many of my pessimistic fears. I live my life with optimism even when things seem to go sour, and I am grateful that no more horrific attacks have taken place here. Even so, I fear that one day, we could once again be witness to a similar tragedy, one that no one was prepared for nor did they expect it to happen. That was exactly what 9/11 was: an event that people thought would never occur and thus did nothing to get ready for it. I pray that we never get attacked in such a horrific matter again, because if we do, my fears would be revived and I may not feel as safe as I do now. 9/11 is a day that I shall never forget, and a sad day that will live on in the minds of many people forever.