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It’s been ten years since the planes hit the World Trade Center in New York and Pentagon in Washington, D.C., yet everyone around the world still remembers where they were and what they were doing.
Now, Sept 11th marks a day of remembrance for U.S. citizens and their global friends. Ten years later, we still step back on this day and think about all that had happened and all that has emerged from it, both the good and the bad.
For the sake of memory, let’s share: What were you doing on September 11th, 2001?
I was in my high school science class. Our guidance counselor came in to tell us the news. She was crying. The rest of the day there were TVs set up everywhere and classes were cancelled as we all just sat around and watched the broadcasts.
I was in school, 6th grade. I remember someone calling the classroom and my teacher gathering all of us together. As soon as we found out the news we immediately looked at two of our friends–one had a father who worked in the Towers and another had a father who was a firefighter. It was one of the first times I ever dealt with the possibility of death.
My friend and I had ducked out of band early so we could go to the bathroom, and we ran into another classmate as we were heading back to class. I remember the sense of shock, followed by sorrow, followed by the dread of how our country was going to handle this tragedy. Ten years later, the dread (and subsequent anger over American xenophobia and prejudice) is what I still feel more strongly than anything else; sometimes I feel robbed of a chance to mourn 9/11 properly.