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I was 10 years old on 9/11.
6 years ago
General
I was 10 years old on 9/11. It was a Tuesday. And I had only recently started 5th grade. Around 11 a.m or so, I remember a sudden announcement came over the p.a. They said that school was cancelled for the day and that we were to go home immediately. But they didn't say why. I'm not quite proud of this, but most of us cheered- me included. Well honestly, what else could be expected?
It wasn't until my Mom and Dad picked me and my younger sister up that I finally got that something very, very big was happening. They had this dreadful worried look on their faces. It wasn't until we were safely on the road- which was jam packed by that point- that we were finally told that an airplane had been crashed into a building. I was still bewildered- why would a plane crash be cause for so much trouble? Then I was told it was a bit worse than that.
I'm sorry. I don't really know how to write more about that part.
When I got home, things were much worse. I learned about the Pentagon and the crash in Shanksville. Now, my best friend's mother was in the Pentagon on that day. (I live right next door to D.C.) Thank the Lord, she wasn't hurt- she was on the other side of the building when the plane crashed. I remember she told us later she thought it was an earthquake at first!
But there was one more thing. This was probably the worst part. It turns out that one of the families, who had kids who went to my school, were on that plane. And the entire family was murdered in the most cruel and barbarous way possible. The mom, the dad, and their two daughters, aged 8 and 3- killed.
I had no clue what to make of any of this. None. I didn't cry- not out of having no sympathy- but I remember this dreadful feeling of sadness and fear that weighed on what felt like everyone in the whole country for years afterward. And it must be understood- there was bad news on the doorstep what felt like every other month for ages after. Not even a year later, we had our very own serial killer- the Beltway Sniper, aka John Allen Muhammad, and we had schools releasing early all over again. The Iraq war. The Afghan war. Legion after legion of hateful trolling towards Muslims for what only a few actually did.
Life is very short. Use it for God. Use it to make the world a better place for others, so that the darkness of fear may not overcome you.
It wasn't until my Mom and Dad picked me and my younger sister up that I finally got that something very, very big was happening. They had this dreadful worried look on their faces. It wasn't until we were safely on the road- which was jam packed by that point- that we were finally told that an airplane had been crashed into a building. I was still bewildered- why would a plane crash be cause for so much trouble? Then I was told it was a bit worse than that.
I'm sorry. I don't really know how to write more about that part.
When I got home, things were much worse. I learned about the Pentagon and the crash in Shanksville. Now, my best friend's mother was in the Pentagon on that day. (I live right next door to D.C.) Thank the Lord, she wasn't hurt- she was on the other side of the building when the plane crashed. I remember she told us later she thought it was an earthquake at first!
But there was one more thing. This was probably the worst part. It turns out that one of the families, who had kids who went to my school, were on that plane. And the entire family was murdered in the most cruel and barbarous way possible. The mom, the dad, and their two daughters, aged 8 and 3- killed.
I had no clue what to make of any of this. None. I didn't cry- not out of having no sympathy- but I remember this dreadful feeling of sadness and fear that weighed on what felt like everyone in the whole country for years afterward. And it must be understood- there was bad news on the doorstep what felt like every other month for ages after. Not even a year later, we had our very own serial killer- the Beltway Sniper, aka John Allen Muhammad, and we had schools releasing early all over again. The Iraq war. The Afghan war. Legion after legion of hateful trolling towards Muslims for what only a few actually did.
Life is very short. Use it for God. Use it to make the world a better place for others, so that the darkness of fear may not overcome you.
