where were you?

Ten years ago I was in the 11th grade. Ten years ago from this morning, I sat in anatomy class watching our daily morning news shows- remember Channel One? When the news ended, my (slacker) football coach of a teacher took his time turning the tv off. I’m grateful that he did, because what came on next was a shot of one of the World Trade Center buildings pouring smoke. A few minutes later, we watched the live feed of an airplane flying into the second tower. I’m not sure it was a strong pedagogical decision, but that teacher left CNN on for the rest of class. I was horrified, but many of my classmates didn’t seem to notice.

Ten years and a few months ago, I fell in love with New York. I was there (for the first time) the April before the towers fell with my high school chorus. We were there to perform with the National Youth Choir at Carnegie Hall, but we made plenty of time to tour the city. I never set foot in the Twin Towers, but it is really interesting to look back at the photos from that trip and see them in the skyline. Sad, mostly.

I’ll never forget that day and the days that followed. My Uncle Tom (who was a firefighter in Buffalo) joined many others in the clean-up. It was such a scary and precarious time for our country. But I’m so grateful and proud that we live in a country where catastrophes like as 9/11 are an anomaly. And I will always remember the people lost in the tragedy of that day.

Where were you ten years ago?

<3, Liz