Oh gosh. I was actually getting ready for school when it all started happening. I think I was in...7th grade? I went to school and we didn't learn anything all day. The tvs in the classrooms were all turned to the news and we basically all got free time. So I read a lot.
And then that evening I got dragged to a candle-light vigil service at a church.
It didn't really seem real to me because it was happening so far away from where I live. I didn't really know anyone who was directly affected by it.
Forums General Chit-Chat The 16th Anniversary of September 11th
I was 13 and in the 8th grade. I didn't hear about it until I got to school and heard other kids talking about it in the hallway. And of course in every class we watched the news and discussed it. I remember I felt a bit of a dull sadness but I've never been anywhere near NYC or know anyone who does so it didn't personally affect me, especially since I was still pretty young. And I remember my father didn't usually watch the news but even he had it on that evening, uncharacteristically for him on a typical day.
Mmmhh, I was in second grade, I think? I'm on the west coast, so I'd barely gotten out of bed when the second tower was hit. This was back before we re-arranged the living room, and my parents still had the habit of watching the news in the morning. But usually they'd turn it off once I got up, so I was a bit confused that day.
Kind of stumbled into the room, and stared at the TV -- they'd left it on after they saw the first tower get hit, I suppose. Didn't have a good grasp on life/death, politics, etc at the time, so I didn't really realize how bad everything was for a long while. Didn't go to school that day. Was more pissed at my parents for not letting me go to a county parade a couple weeks later, due to everyone being worried that SF might be another target.
Note: I'm scared of falling and my body basically becomes paralyzed when I have a downwards velocity past a certain threshold. (lol what even are rollercoasters). And since I didn't really get the whole dying thing just yet, there was a particular plane flight where apparently I asked my mom really loudly, "MOMMY, WHAT IF WE CRASH LIKE IN NEW YORK" and I guess some lady turned around and told my mom to please shut me up, because everyone was already on edge.
....Whoops.
But there was also another flight where, during takeoff, the weather was pretty bad, and the plane ended up dipping twice, the first time being not too bad, but the second dropping us down probably several dozen feet. (There was a lot of screaming around the cabin.) I...still have a strong fear of takeoff due to that incident, which was....maybe fourteen years ago. Doesn't help matters at all when I have to fly to Pittsburgh for college, which usually involves at least two different flights per trip :|
Kind of stumbled into the room, and stared at the TV -- they'd left it on after they saw the first tower get hit, I suppose. Didn't have a good grasp on life/death, politics, etc at the time, so I didn't really realize how bad everything was for a long while. Didn't go to school that day. Was more pissed at my parents for not letting me go to a county parade a couple weeks later, due to everyone being worried that SF might be another target.
Note: I'm scared of falling and my body basically becomes paralyzed when I have a downwards velocity past a certain threshold. (lol what even are rollercoasters). And since I didn't really get the whole dying thing just yet, there was a particular plane flight where apparently I asked my mom really loudly, "MOMMY, WHAT IF WE CRASH LIKE IN NEW YORK" and I guess some lady turned around and told my mom to please shut me up, because everyone was already on edge.
....Whoops.
But there was also another flight where, during takeoff, the weather was pretty bad, and the plane ended up dipping twice, the first time being not too bad, but the second dropping us down probably several dozen feet. (There was a lot of screaming around the cabin.) I...still have a strong fear of takeoff due to that incident, which was....maybe fourteen years ago. Doesn't help matters at all when I have to fly to Pittsburgh for college, which usually involves at least two different flights per trip :|
I live in the northeast, about 2 hours from NYC, and was in 6th grade at the time. They wouldn't let us out for recess, and let us watch the news on wheeled in TVs. I was never personally affected by 9/11, though, but I think a few kids in my class may have lost family members in the tragedy.
Interesting note, and slight tangent, but I recently read a book written by a forensic pathologist who worked in NYC at the time, and she said people either died or lived on 9/11. Apparently hospitals geared up, and doctors were ready for patients, but the entire day went by and hospitals were dead quiet. But by the next day, the book's author was attempting to identify bodies, body parts, and body fragments and would be doing so for the next eight months. They kept these parts in refrigerated trucks that were covered in American flags parked on the side of the road near the medical examiner's office, and people in the surrounding area had no idea. It was gruesome.
Anyway, I visited NYC pretty recently. Now there's two giant holes where the twin towers were. It's a lovely and respectful memorial, and the museum is a couple hundred feet away.
Interesting note, and slight tangent, but I recently read a book written by a forensic pathologist who worked in NYC at the time, and she said people either died or lived on 9/11. Apparently hospitals geared up, and doctors were ready for patients, but the entire day went by and hospitals were dead quiet. But by the next day, the book's author was attempting to identify bodies, body parts, and body fragments and would be doing so for the next eight months. They kept these parts in refrigerated trucks that were covered in American flags parked on the side of the road near the medical examiner's office, and people in the surrounding area had no idea. It was gruesome.
Anyway, I visited NYC pretty recently. Now there's two giant holes where the twin towers were. It's a lovely and respectful memorial, and the museum is a couple hundred feet away.
@Runner Available: most people who were send to the hospitals, were people who were on the streets when it happened. The people in the twin towers, who tried to get out, a lot of them were stopped at the entrance and were send back in.
@Concentricity: I was born in 1999 and would have been just a toddler when September 11, 2001 happened. I don't remember what I was doing when it happened or how it affected me.
@Neko: I hope your sister overcomes her PTSD. Sorry to hear how badly she was affected.
@Shamrock Shamus: My condolences to you on the death of your wife from leukemia.
@Neko: I hope your sister overcomes her PTSD. Sorry to hear how badly she was affected.
@Shamrock Shamus: My condolences to you on the death of your wife from leukemia.
Current avatar: Emmett Khan, Master of the Golden Keyblade.
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Do you play RuneScape?
My DeviantArt Gallery:
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Having you as a Voltie would be awesome.