9/11/01

I remember exactly what I was doing the exact moment I saw the first plane hit the tower. Does anyone not remember what they were doing when they heard? I was in my apartment bedroom getting ready for French class. The TV on my dresser was tuned to the Today show just as it was most mornings. I remember hearing Katie Couric scream and they switched to a live shot of the plane hitting the building. I stopped and thought, what the heck just happened? A few minutes later the second plane hit.

Going to class wasn't always a priority for me but that day I went. I think I went so people would talk to me about it. No one said a word. I was thinking, "Why isn't anyone talking about this?" I wish I had spoken up because I don't think most people knew that it happened yet. I wish we had the TV on. I missed the buildings fall. I, like most Americans, was glued to the TV day and night trying to understand why.

That night I was hanging out at my (slightly redneck) boyfriends house, scared to death because nothing like this had happened in my lifetime. There was the first Gulf War but that hardly seemed like a threat. It happened when I was 8 years old. He and his roommates had bought an American flag and counting their shotguns. "Woooooo! We're gonna kill those bastards!!" I remember them chanting.

That one day changed my life and the lives of my children forever. I used to fly to Texas when I was just a small child and my aunt would pick me up at the gate. No more. I never used to question my personal security. To this day, anytime a plane or helicopter from Dobbins flies over our house I get chills and secretly think to myself, "this is what it feels like to be at war."

I pray every day that our leaders are watching out for us. I pray that my kids will only know an event like 9/11 in our history. I also pray that my girls will grow up feeling safe and secure in their home and country like I did for so long. I know people always say this but I will NEVER forget.