A Day Never To Be Forgotten

It’s hard to believe it was six years ago today that history would change forever. It was Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I was a junior at Davis High. The girls on the drill team and I had just finished our morning practice on the football field for our Friday night halftime routine. We came into the locker room and were getting ready for school. Suddenly our coach, Terri Hall, ran into the room in a panic. She said something bad has happened. She explained that an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center in NYC. At first, we were all really confused and didn’t really know what to believe. I wasn’t sure what was going on. I had hoped that it was an accident and we weren’t getting attacked. Thousands of thoughts ran through my head… Is this WWIII? My coach tried to calmly explain the few details she had just heard. My best friend Marci Muhlestein starting crying and was really upset. We came to find out she had a relative that worked in the WTC. The bell began to ring and it was time to go to class. The last thing we all wanted to do was to be confined in a classroom not knowing what was going on in the world outside. My first two classes were torture. My teachers tried to carry on as if nothing had happened. They were trying to protect us… but seriously, we weren’t idiots. We just wanted to know. I hurried home for lunch and flipped on the TV. EVERY station was plastered with images of the burning towers… both of which had been hit. Reports and anchors seemed frazzled and confused. The nation was trying to make sense of it all. I was absolutely glued to the TV set. I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. I eventually went back to school to finish out the day. There was a solemn buzz of speculation and concern in the hallways. I later found out Marci’s relative had been transferred and was not working the WTC at the time of the attack. When I got home from school, my entire family and I watched the news late into the night. The towers had eventually collapsed and thousands were dead. Another plane had crashed into the Pentagon and in a Pennsylvanian field. The biggest question we all had was WHY? We were under attack and we all knew our lives and the history of the nation would change forever. I had a small television in my bedroom. I fell asleep to the news. When I woke up the next morning, I felt as if the day before was a dream. I hoped that if I turned the TV on, it would confirm my optimism of it just being a dream. Unfortunately, with a press of a button, the harsh reality resounded back at me. It wasn’t a dream. It was a day we would never forget and my life would change forever.

Of course we all have our opinions about the war, but I think on this day we need to remember the men and women who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom. There are so many children who no longer have a mom or dad to read them bedtime stories or watch them grow up. I would love to hear where you were on that day and how it impacted your life… please leave a comment!