I was a student at SFA in Texas, waiting for my astronomy class to begin. Students were slowly filling the auditorium – I was perusing through the textbook since the semester had just begun and really wasn’t paying attention to the conversations around me. One of the people seated to the front-left of me was approached quickly by a friend of hers, and her voice I will never be able to forget…

“Did you hear what they’re doing?”

“No…” the seated student replied, obviously taken aback by her concerned tone.

“They’re flying planes into the World Trade Center.”

The pair had my full attention as the one that had revealed the news was almost in tears. I knew this was serious and shoved my book into my bag and left class before it had even begun, making my way back to my dorm room with a pace that would rival power-walking. Near the entrance to the dorm, a friend who was living in the same building was headed towards his own class.

“What the hell is going on?” I asked him. He raised his clenched fist up to his chest – “We’re at war.”

I opened the door to my room and hastily asked my roommate for the remote to his TV. His puzzled look was quickly replaced by a slack-jawed stare as we both watched in horror at the burning towers. It was complete silence until both had collapsed into the streets of Manhattan, and even then, there really were no words.

I soon called my dad who worked in the tallest building in downtown Houston to see if they we’re evacuating – he said they had given them the option and he was debating whether or not to leave.

Everything after that is kind of a blur… non-stop news for the rest of the day and into the night.