September 11

September 11

At 8:46, on the morning of September 11, 2001, the United States dramatically

changed. An airliner, traveling at hundreds of miles per hour, crashed into the North

Tower of the World Trade Center. At 9:03, a second airliner hit the South Tower. Fire

and smoke filled the sky while steel, ash and dead bodies fell below. In less than ninety

minutes, the Twin Towers were destroyed, and the nation realized that we were under a

terrorist attack. This tragic event left America asking the same questions over and over

again. Why did this happen, why did the U.S. government fail to prevent this, and will we

ever be safe? (Executive)

This day will always remain picture perfect in my memory. It was a normal

Tuesday morning. I was sitting in my second period class having a conversation about

Ozzy Osbourne with my best friend. Our teacher, Mr. Malhame, stopped in for a few

seconds and told us that he needed to take care of something and will be right back.

While he was gone we played Hangman on the board, talked about the homecoming

dance, and gossiped about other students. Twenty minutes later Mr. Malhame finally

returned and had a dreadful look upon his face. He informed us that two airplanes

crashed into the World Trade Center and destroyed it. At the time, no one in my class

knew what the World Trade Center was nor did we know how serious the situation was.

The rest of the day we sat in total fear watching the devastating news on television until

our parents came to pick us up from school. For many of us, this was the first day we

learned about terrorism and the last day we would ever see the World Trade Center

again.

After that devastating event took place, for a few months, I lived my life in total

fear. I was to afraid to go out and do the things I loved to do. I kept second guessing

everything, it was pathetic. I stopped going to outdoor events such as concerts, dances,

wrestling events, and even school functions because I feared that the places I went to

would get bombed and there would be another terrorist attack. I even passed up an

opportunity to go to Florida because I thought a terrorist would be on the plane and try to