Where were you

MarriedInAFever

on 9/11/01? What were you doing? What were you thinking? How did you feel?
ETA: Did the events change you or your life? If yes, how?

Anysunrise

I was sitting in my 6th grade class (just in case anyone forgot how young I am), listening to it on the radio. We were all just sitting in a kind of stunned silence.

MarriedInAFever

I was in class too. In high school. Class completely ceased. We all turned on the TVs and just watched. I saw the second plane hit as well. I was completely scared and confused. I wasn't sure what this meant. But I'll never forget watching the buildings crumble and being fixated on the screen.

MeaghanandMichael

I was in my senior year of high school hanging out with my friends in the tv studio during our free period. We were fooling around getting ready for homecoming weekend footage and our default channel in the studio was CNN. We saw the second plane crash. We barely believed it was real. We told our teacher who was kind of not phased by it either at first because we legitimately did not believe it could have really been happening.

She called the principal and then the school went on lockdown because they alerted all the school in the radius of Logan airport to sit tight and wait further instructions. They then did not allow us to watch it on tv for fear it would upset people. I got detention for yelling at my teacher that most of us were 18 (even though I wasn't) and I told her to shut her face. It was a horrible day. My uncle witnessed everything from Greenwich Village

dandan83

I was at home asleep. I remember my mom coming in and waking me up telling me I had to come see the TV. We just sat there for what seemed like hours. I felt so shocked and confused and just devastated for all the loss.

raynes

I was in highschool physics class.  Grade 10 I think?  Our teacher had been across the hall in the computer lab/his office and came in to tell us that a plane had crashed into the pentagon.  I remember there being TVs set up in the cafeteria.

barbbhoww

I was in 8th grade..hanging posters to be the class president.  The teachers were all around the TV but didn't think anything of it.  They didn't tell us ANYTHING that day.  we all went on as nothing was wrong...I went home and thought it wasn't such a big deal.  I am still mad about it to this point.

SarahPLiz

I was in the parking lot of the Awty International School in Houston. I was on their audit team, and I think it was the 2nd day of the audit. I was the only one on the team there that day. Right before I turned off my car, I heard on the radio, "some idiot just flew his plane into the world trade center. How could he not see that??". I went inside and went to work. We worked on laptops but didn't have internet access, as it wasn't necessary. We connected out computers together with a blue wire in order to sync our auditing software. 

Around lunch time (1pm NY time, noon Houston time), I went into the Head Mistress' office to ask her a question, and the secretaries told me that she was in an emergency meeting and that the school was on lockdown (totally necessary due to all the diplomat's children who went there). Then I had to ask the stupid question why, and they looked at me in disbelief. I spent the next hour or so in their office listening to the radio with them. I called our partner, and he thought I knew as well. Guess not. It was a weird rest of the day, with me trying to get in contact with my college roomie who worked near the pentagon, and with my grandparents to make sure my Grandpa hadn't had a heart attack when he saw it on CNN. that's the only channel they ever watch, and its on 24/7. 

When I got home, my roommate told me about her day as a brand new 3rd grade teacher, and how all the teachers were told one by one in person, but they couldn't tell the students or turn on the TVs. They had to shut all the blinds so the kids wouldn't see all the parents streaming in to pick them up. They were trying to control the panic. We watched on TV for a few minutes and then shut it off and cried together for a while, trying to figure out how we were each going to get through the next day. It was kind of rough, but I can't imagine how it would have been had I known anyone who was killed, or in danger. 

Chi_Chi

I was in gym class. 9th grade. At first I understood it as someone was bombing our school, but then all the radios and tvs came on and we watched the coverage for the rest of the day. I really didnt have the mind capacity at that point to realize what was really going on. 

neelynicole

I was at home, getting ready for work. My BF at the time called me and told me to turn on the radio (I had just moved and didn't have the tv hooked up yet). He was going on and on about the WTC being hit, a plane went into the pentagon, things are on fire, and he was on total lockdown at work.

I told him I thought he'd been watching Independence Day too much and I didn't have time for that nonsense. Then I turned on the radio. I couldn't believe it.

I spent that entire day at work watching the news.

betrothed123

I was on my way to my government class in junior year of high school.  I can remember walking by a classroom door and seeing it on the TV.  I got to my class and we just stared at the TV.  That's all we did the rest of the day.

My dad was flying home from a business trip and was supposed to be home about midday.  He goes away so often that I've never really kept up on where he was going so when I saw that planes had been hijacked I was terrified his was one of them.  That's all I could think about the rest of the day until he was finally able to call home late that night and tell us he was okay.

csspencer

I was a senior in high school. The science lab assistant came in and told my anatomy teacher, who proceeded to tell us. We sat around in disbelief until it was lunch, in the cafeteria the teachers were in shear panic mode (at that point they were still saying that a couple airplanes were missing). The principal told us we were allowed to listen to radios or watch tv, so my government class decided to log onto the internet. Finally Baltimore County closed school early, and my dad was waiting by my bus to take me home, my mom went to get my sister, they didn't want us to ride the bus home.

elizp267

I lurk here a lot but I wanted to share....

It was my freshman year of college, we had only been there for about 3-4 weeks. I was living in the dorm at the time...I had just woke up and walked down the hall to the "communal" bathroom. One of the girls on my hall mentioned to me that the US was being attacked. I remember being like "What do you mean?" I could not comprehend it at all. My roommate and I watched the TV all day..I actually went to one of my classes because I didn't know what to do...but they were cancelled when I was on the bus to that class. I will never forget that day. 

SarahPLiz

off topic, now I feel old. 

andy71781

I was in Cape Town, South Africa.  I found out before my evening class and I was really confused.  One by one all of the study abroad kids got together and watched.  I stayed up all night watching CNN and I was unable to talk to any of my family members (who were in Kalamazoo, Michigan).  I came back 3 months later to a very different country.

MarriedInAFever

Sarah, I feared feeling too young!

I'm glad so many responded. I'm adding a bonus question in the original post.

[Deleted User]

I was in 10th grade Chemistry class. the principal came on over the PA system and said what happened. Some of the students, myself included, didn't know what the World Trace Center was (I know, this makes me sound stupid), so the teacher drew them on the chalkboard and was explaining what they were/did.

Then she started saying something about how planes were always having to fly around them and that their positioning was actually kind of an inconvenience for pilots. Then she said, "Well, I guess they won't be in the way anymore" and went back to teaching. At the time, I thought the comment was harsh but didn't think much of it. But the rest of the day teachers had it all on TV, so when we realized just how devastating the attack had been we all lost respect for her, especially since two of our classmates had family that died that day.

MeaghanandMichael

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_were-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:289ef20c-b8d9-4cc2-86b3-929e21441332Post:85b9b3a7-1ec2-4442-a454-d8d68b910cd8">Re: Where were you</a>:
[QUOTE]off topic, now I feel old. 
Posted by SarahPLiz[/QUOTE]

I kind of do too. I mean, I know I mentioned I was still in highschool for 9/11 but I sometimes forget I have been here for three plus years now and am no longer that 22 year old starry eyed fiancee. hehe

dandan83

I can't say that I was impacted fully because I did not know anyone who passed away that day. I guess it was just a shift in thought that in that short span of time we went from being "untouchable" to being the victims. Things like that weren't supposed to happen in the USA, terrorism was something that was far away from us. Now it seems it's an every day topic.

tpender13

It was my first quarter of college. The guy I was dating LD at the time called around 7, and just said "I know you're made at me for waking you up, but go turn on the TV." I did, and wow... I was the only one home, and my three roommates started coming home and we all just sat and watched together. One of their moms was a bit off her rocker, and insisting her daughter come home. 4 hours away.

khornack

My father was stationed in Germany, so I had just gotten home from school. They immediately restricted all movement of nonessential personnel (remember the Hamburg cell element, they were afraid the bases would be attacked). My school was closed for the rest of the week, my Dad basically disappeared for a week. For the next few months our streets were patrolled by armed soldiers in Hum-Vees, and two of identification were required to get on and off base. My friends and I all knew what it meant for our parents, and a fair share of the seniors who joined up.

Something I will NEVER forget though, is the kindness and support of the German people. Hundreds of them brought flowers and notes with kind words to the gates, to the point that there were MOUNDS of memorial flowers. It was really touching.

Chi_Chi

Wow seshat! That was a pretty shitty thing of your teacher to say. Did she ever apologize for making light of such a serious situation or was it brought up again? 

sarah0725

I had just started my first year of college. A few days before September 11, a bus jumped a small hill and ran into my dorm, and that was the biggest story on campus for a few days. When the towers fell, I was in my second-period class, and I didn't hear the news until I went to third period and found out that classes had been canceled (around 11). By the time I got back to my dorm, both towers had collapsed, and we all sat and watched it on TV for the rest of the day. I went to school in NJ, so there were fighter jets and such going overhead all day, and we could see the smoke from the towers from our dorm. I was still a practicing Catholic then, and that night I went to mass.

If anything, September 11 spurred my transition to becoming more politically radicalized. I was a good Democrat before then, but it was shortly afterward that I met my leftist friends, and now I'm marrying one of them. Nine years after September 11 is also close to nine years of knowing FI for me.

tpender13

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_were-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:289ef20c-b8d9-4cc2-86b3-929e21441332Post:c8d23e98-e333-49b0-9321-655e68e7bacd">Re: Where were you</a>:
[QUOTE]Something I will NEVER forget though, is the kindness and support of the German people. Hundreds of them brought flowers and notes with kind words to the gates, to the point that there were MOUNDS of memorial flowers. It was really touching.
Posted by khornack[/QUOTE]
 
That's amazing...

[Deleted User]

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_were-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:17Discussion:289ef20c-b8d9-4cc2-86b3-929e21441332Post:a1bd0af9-e956-46fd-afbe-42014d1e5ebc">Re: Where were you</a>:
[QUOTE]Wow seshat! That was a pretty shitty thing of your teacher to say. Did she ever apologize for making light of such a serious situation or was it brought up again? 
Posted by Chi_Chi[/QUOTE]

She never mentioned it again. But it was definitely talked about amongst students in the "OMG, did you hear what Mrs. **** said? I can't believe she would say thing" kind of way. Even the other teachers heard about it.

baystateapple

I was in the cafeteria at my college, one week into my freshman year.  Eating cinnamon toast.  It was the day before my 18th birthday.

npasquale16

I was driving to my first class of my sophomore year of college.  I had a direct view of the skyline and was listening to the radio as the first reports broke in.  It was the scariest day because at first no one knew what was going on.  The entire campus was completely silent--no one was yelling or laughing.  People were saying things like the White House was on fire and the President was dead. 

At first, classes were not cancelled, because a lot of people didn't even know what happened yet.  As I was leaving for the day, the police started to close the highways because they didn't want peole driving in case there was another attack.  I was one of the last people who were able to get on and I drove straight home.  A bunch of the professors lived in the city and couldn't even get home for days. 

Lenore2010

I was at work. I had been to Starbucks and got in a little late. I had been up half the night before preparing for court in a messy case. My boss called me to say that a plane had hit the WTC in New York. I said "Wow, an accident?" He said "No, they don't think so." An hour later I found out court was cancelled and we knew what had happened. My boss called back and said to go home, get out of Downtown now he was worried.

It was very surreal.

jcbender0

I also lurk a lot here, but wanted to share (and I feel old too!)I was going between buildings during my first year of teaching.  No one was talking about it at either buildings, I don't think anyone had heard yet.  I was listening to the radio and couldn't believe it was happening.  I personally wasn't affected by the crash, but living less than 2 hours from the city, know a lot of people who were in the area or had family in the area. 

SarahPLiz

I don't think they changed my life in the sense of my world outlook. Having a sister that studied the Holocaust extensively in grade and high school, I was well acquainted with exactly how evil some people are, and not at all surprised that someone had dare offend the US. In my mind, it was only a matter of time until something like that happened. Of course, this outlook may have come with age, as I was 22 at the time and had graduated college and was out in the work world. I'm sure it would have shaken me to my core had I been a child, or even a teenager, with a narrower view of the world. 

This is not to say that I wasn't affected at all. I feel deeply for the people who lost friends and family members, and those who have had their sense of security ripped from them. That is a horrible, horrible thing that I wouldn't wish on anyone. I am not trying to minimize their pain at all. 

The immediate outcry of bombing people back, without proof of culpability, sickened me even more than the actual act. Just like FFF here, when someone lashes out at you, i think it is very prudent to have some introspective time to try to see things from their point of view. To assume that the US has done no wrong while trying to push its view of world democracy on some very unwilling populations is just naive, and dangerous. Yes, the people in the tower were innocent victims, but the country as a whole was, and is still, not. But that's a discussion for another day. 

[Deleted User]

I was in grade 11, got upstairs to get ready for school and dad had CNN.  We very rarely watch CNN, but as soon as I got upstairs I saw why it was on.
I remember my parents being on the phone lots talking to people.  One of my mom's friends called her just to talk cuz she was scared.
My dad drives the school bus, and every stop we made from there forward it seemed each student had a "new development" story. 
School had a TV on with CNN on so anyone could watch between classes and during lunch (we live in the middle of the prairies in Canada, so we weren't in such a state of emergency).
Crazy.  It didn't affect anyone I know personally, but our prayers were all with the people it did.