September 11, 2011

Remembering 9/11 - A Day we will never forget.



As I sit here watching the news and listen to all the names of all the people we've lost on 9/11, I can't stop my tears from coming.


Where was I on the morning of 9/11?

I was on a line for a concert that I really wanted to be in front for. It was standing room only and to make sure I was in front, me and a couple of my friends slept outside on the line along with about thirty other people. 

I remember at about 6:30 am – 7:00 am, my best friend Nicole and I decided we wanted to take a walk to find something to eat. We walked a couple of blocks and we really couldn’t find a place serving breakfast sandwiches or a diner nearby. So we stopped and asked some random guy in the street if he knew where the nearest store was that we can find something to eat. He pointed us in the direction of a little store on the next street.

We get there we order our food; we eat and decide we wanted to keep walking for a bit longer. We walked maybe five more blocks, and I don’t know what happened, but Nicole and I decided that we wanted to go back to that store for something else (I can’t remember what now) and we turned around and started walking back. On our way back we NEVER found that store. We started freaking out saying we just missed it and continued for about another half an hour trying to find this store. We never did. We ran back to the girls and decided we needed to tell the girls what happened and what a weird morning. We took our seats and shortly after that everyone’s phone went off with the news about the first plane hitting. We were all in shock and thinking what a horrible accident. We didn’t know what to do.

When the second plane hit, we knew it wasn’t an accident. I remember a couple of us ran to the New Yorker Hotel and we were watching the news as they kept replaying it all. When the first tour fell, it just didn't seem real to me. I mean, it was New York City; I’ve lived there practically my whole life and nothing this bad has ever happened. To me it just wasn’t happening. I remember even laughing at times like “Oh my gosh, did you see that.” I just didn’t believe it was happening.

When it finally hit me, I realized that I needed to get out of Manhattan. What if more things were to come? That is all I kept thinking about. The trains weren’t running, buses weren’t working in that specific area. I had no idea how I was going to get home and lots of crazy thoughts were running through my head. I thought the whole city was under attack and I was never going to make it home to my mother and siblings. We must have walked close to fifty blocks to a friend’s house and from there we were finally able to get home. I ran in the door and hugged my mother and I remember the look of relief on her face that I was okay.

I fell asleep and sometime in the middle of the night I woke up and my mother must have left the news on because the first things I see are the twin towers being hit over and over again. That’s when I cried. I cried so hard because I realized it was real. The towers fell, people died, America was hurt. I climbed in bed with my mother and she just hugged me back to sleep.

This is how I remember 9/11.

A part of me is proud that I got to live through a time that has made history, but another part of me is so sad. I think about all those family members who received a call that morning from their loved ones saying goodbye. I think about the people who jumped out the windows, those who were only a block away running for their lives when the building started to fall. I also think about what those people were thinking at that very moment. Not only the ones we lost, but those who were home trying to reach their loved ones. It brings tears to my eyes. I know The World Trade Center wasn’t the only place that was hit, but it was the biggest hit of all and where we lost a lot of people. 

May their souls rest in peace.




Take a second today and light a white candle in memory of 9/11.




6 comments:

  1. On 9/11, I was sleeping and was woken up by a phone call from my mother who said, "Maria, we are under attack!" The weird part is that I actually remember that she sounded like she was laughing when she said it. I think it was because at this point, only the first plane had hit and I'm sure she just thought it was an accident, and of course she had no idea what was going to happen later.

    A few minutes later, I went to my aunt's house (Damaris' mom) and watched the news with her and another aunt. When the first tower fell, I don't think I even realized what was going on. I guess I thought the buildings were empty or something. When the second tower fell, I thought that they were replaying the first one. When I realized that wasn't the case, that's when it started to hit me. That's when the news started spouting off numbers of people who were dead, and that's when I got scared for all of my family (my brothers especially) who were in Manhattan.

    To this day, I still feel anxiety if a plane is flying too low, or if their noise overhead is too loud. I absolutely hate flying, and I worry constantly about living in NYC. But the most important thing I learned from 9/11 is that you CANNOT live your life in fear. You never know what can happen tomorrow, and you live every day to the fullest. I will never forget this message. My thoughts and prayers go out to all of those who lost someone on any of those 4 flights today. God Bless.

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  2. ON 9/11, I was 16 and in school. The school was put on lockdown. Teachers turn on the tv in the their room and I remeber watching the planes hit in my Chemistry class. When I got home, I was in shock and very scared, not sure what the future holds. I'm praying for everyone today.

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  3. Thank you for this post and for remembering.

    StuckInBooks.com

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  4. I was 16 and I was in Cape Cod on vacation with my parents. My mother woke me up to tell me a plane had hit a building in New York. I didn't understand, I thought it had to be an accident, who could do that on purpose? It's like I woke up in a different world.

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  5. I remember vividly that day. I was 22 years old and I had a 6 months old baby. I was trying to log into my laptop and I couldn't log in. I remember saying "God why won't let me log in?" I now know why he didn't answer my question. Because he was so distracted with the horror that was going on downtown.

    I gave up on the laptop and sat down on my bed to watch the news and I do every single morning and they said one of the towers were hit. Shortly after, LIVE on tv, the second plane hit.

    At that moment, I started getting phone calls. To please leave my apt and flee to The bronx. I lived in the West Side of Manhattan. Morningside Heights to be precise.

    I called my son's father and he told me to leave NOW. So I got my baby ready and when I went outside. It was a war zone. Everyone outside was emotional and just basically losing their minds.

    Eventually I got on the bus to the East Side but it only went a few stops. I had to walk the rest of the way across a bridge filled with scared people.

    It was a frightened day. I never ever again want to experience the feeling of panic. That day was horrible.

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  6. Thank you for this post! I was among the millions of people watching from home yesterday and shedding tears for all those that were lost! I still cannot believe that it has been ten years already.

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