Remembering 9-11-2001

Everyone remembers that fateful day back in early September of 2001.

I was in the 7th grade at the Wilmington Middle School. It started out as just an ordinary day. I was sitting through all of my classes, hating the fact that I was in school. I was never a very good student, and Middle School just made it worse. The highest point of my day was lunchtime. I went to lunch with a huge smile on my face because I didn't think that my day was going to end. It was a huge sigh of relief. I don't remember what I had to eat that day. I wish I did.

After lunch, the assistant principle said that we all needed to head down to the auditorium for an announcement. No one had any idea why. I asked one of the teachers and they said that it was just a very important announcement. Next thing I remember was sitting in the packed auditorium with every grade level there as well, not just my grade. I knew something was up.

We were then informed by our principle that 2 planes had crashed into the Twin Towers and into the Pentagon and one crashed in Pennsylvania. The way that they had worded it made it sound as if it was an accident. In my head, I thought that the pilots had to either be drunk or just bad pilots to crash into the Twin Towers. These were the 2nd biggest buildings in the country. How could you possibly not see them.

After the announcement, we finished the school day as if nothing had happened. When we were on the bus ride home, everyone was joking about it. We didn't know. None of us did. I'll admit, I helped take part in the joking around. I didn't know what really had happened.

As I was walking home from the bus stop, joking around about what had happened, all of the parents were giving me a look. They were looking at me like there was something wrong with me. Again, I had no idea.

When I got home, I walked into the house, and my mother was standing with her hands on her hips staring at the television. When I was able to see what was on T.V., I was confused. I thought it was an accident. Why were they saying that it was terrorists? What are terrorists? Osama who?

That night, I was trying do my homework that my science teacher had given me. One, I had no idea what to do because I have always been terrible in science. Two, I could not take my eyes off of the television. I could not believe what I was seeing. I was in complete shock.

When my father got home, he was a complete mess. He seemed befuddled. He seemed very short with everyone. He usually gets this way when something breaks or he gets frustrated with something. When I started working on my homework, I asked him if he knew how to figure out a problem.He was a teacher, after all. He grew infuriated. Not with me, but with the fact that my teacher gave out homework. He said, "What kind of person would give out homework today, of all days?! You are NOT doing your homework tonight. If she has anything to say about it, tell her she can talk to me!" The moment was very somber. On the inside, I was a little happy that he wasn't making me do it. My mother wrote a note for the teacher explaining that I did not do my homework because of what happened that day.

For the rest of the night, my family and I watched in horror as the death toll climbed higher and higher. The more and more deaths that were being counted, the angrier and angrier we got. My eyes were glued to the television. I watched in horror and fear as the president made his announcement to the nation. Although my eyes were glued, I was able to tear them away for just a few seconds. I looked at my father. He was sitting in his blue recliner with his eyes glued to the television as well. I was wondering why he wasn't saying anything. He was crying. I couldn't believe it. For my whole life, my father was someone that I thought was superhuman, a beacon of bravery. When I saw him crying, it made me realize the true severity of the events.

When I went to school the next day, everyone was quiet. Our homeroom teacher made us write what we felt about the events of the day before. I didn't write this. In 7th grade, I was a little more closed off. On this ten-year anniversary, something made me feel like I should share this with all of you. I am very fortunate of not knowing anyone who died on this tragic day. It makes me feel like I am not worthy of sharing my stories with the public. My story doesn't compare to the stories of those people who lost so much on that day. My prayers have been going out to those people since that tragic day. They may have destroyed our buildings, but they did not destroy our American spirit and pride. They awoke a sleeping giant that they were not expecting.