On September 11, 2001, I was a brand new freshman at Bridgewater State College. I had just entered my first full week of classes. My Tuesday/Thursday class (Theater Arts) was late in the morning, so I had slept in. My father, a Boston Police officer, had worked an overnight detail at Logan Airport and was driving home when the first plane hit the World Trade Center.
I remember my father running into my room and demanding I wake up. I thought I was in trouble for breaking something on my mom's Chevy Caprice...how naive I was. He insisted I turn on my television, which I did...approximately thirty seconds before Flight 175 hit the South Tower.
I got up for class and prepped my school stuff. At that point, no one knew what was going on still...news stations hadn't uttered the word "terrorism" yet. My professor balked when I called and asked her if class had been canceled. I drove to school in a daze, parked my car in the mostly empty commuter lot and hurried over to the campus center.
I walked up the stairs to the second level to see dozens, maybe even a hundred kids (the number is hazy now) gathered around TVs that a faculty member had wheeled into the hallway. Time seemed to stand still as they played and re-played the video of the towers crashing down, which had happened while I was in the car.
At some point, it was announced that school had closed for the day. I called worked, which I was informed was also closing. I remember going to my then boyfriend's house and just sitting on the floor glued to the TV, waiting to know what was happening. I stayed there until curfew and then went home to watch coverage with my parents. I remember bawling my eyes out until i fell asleep.
The days and weeks that followed were a blur. Everyone was a New Yorker for a few short months, a united front against the atrocities committed to our home. I remember watching this happen live on FOX and just crying (starts at approx 4:29):
http://youtu.be/IH_6EUCILew.
The initial shock and pain faded for many. A united front turned partisan once again. How soon people forget. A few short months after 9/11, students were publicly admonished for supporting our troops while professors and students alike protested AGAINST the military. Many military members has signed up because of September 11th in order to help. One of those protesters had been my friend. Our friendship ended that day.
To say I was not personally affected by 9/11 would be a lie. While it's true that my family did not personally lose anyone in the attack, we lost close to
3,000 American lives that day.
Mothers. Fathers. Children. How can that NOT personally affect you?
On the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I happened to be in Providence and took some pictures of the anniversary observances (below).
My thoughts and prayers remain with those families and loved one lost on September 11, 2001.
