I remember the morning of 9/11 as clear as day. I had classes all morning, which started at 8:30. It was the end of class when one of the students in my class came in the room and announced that she had slept past her alarm clock and was awoken by her mother who told her about tower 1 being hit. I ran to the nearest T.V which was in the gym just in time to watch the 2nd tower get hit. I stood in terror as i watched everything happen. I had to fight back the tears. My dance professor, who was standing right next to me, realised that one of last years seniors was doing graduate work at NYU and lived right next to the area. She broke down crying.

The next thing i heard was that the one plane was from Boston. My heart broke. My father was in Boston on a buisiness trip and was returning soon (I was not sure about the exact date or where the plane was headed). I panicked and grabbed the nearest phone to call my mom. I couldn’t get through for about 20 minutes becuase the curcuits were all busy. Finally i got through and was told my father and mother were safe. I went back to class, which was then cancelled. On my way back to the dorm there were groups of girls on their cell phones trying to reach parents, and friends. Everyone along the way was in tears and there was no relief. In the aftermath our school held several vigils for those lost. One girl from our school lost both parents, one in the towers and one at the pentagon. One of my close friends lost her neighbor, her father (a former NY firefighter) lost 11 of his friends from the station, and narrowly escaped himself( he worked for OEM and was supposed to be in a meeting at the trade center, but took off for a dentist appointment.) The son of my mother’s coworker lost a friend who was trapped in an elevator. They searched many of the buildings and found her body before the area was closed to the public.

A year later I still can’t tell this story without bursting into tears. I still pray for those lost and those who still have not been found.

God Bless America