I remember it like it was yesterday. I was 13 years old, in the 8th grade at Parkview Middle school in Lancaster Ca. And in my homeroom classroom. My teacher Mr. Burditt, was on the phone and I remember him saying, Oh my god, over and over again. We were allowed to talk, but I guess we got to loud and yelled at us to be quiet. We did because he never yelled at us. He looked strange, I saw fear and I grew cold on the inside, because I didn’t know what was going on.

He went to turn on the tv in the corner of the room, and every channel he flicked to had the coverage of the world Trade center. Every eye was on the screen and we didn’t quite understand why It was burning. We watched it for a moment, and as one we all gasped when we saw the 2nd plane crash into the building. Everyone was horrified, I get chills as if I was still in that classroom. The air was somber and we couldn’t make heads or tails of what was going on, until he said somebody attacked us..America today.

I remember a girl screaming that her Uncle, her dad’s brother worked in one of the towers, and no sooner had she said the classroom phone rang and it was the office phoning my teacher to tell her to grab her stuff she was going home…I didn’t know what all of this meant, I was terrified.

She left and we all watched her go, every eye unwilling to turn back to the screen. Classes were cancled that day, no one moved from their homeroom class. When the buildings started to collapse I remember my teacher said No…I think he might had known someone in there because he kept getting on the phone..

I remember feeling as if someone punched me in the gut, that someone had threatened me…my country…my emotions were all over the place, but I was mostly scared that someone had done that. And whats to stop them from doing it to us over here. The days that followed, allowed a bit of strength to form around my heart as I saw the world as one react to the tradgey…gave me hope that not all was lost.