In mid morning on September 11, 2001 I was trying to make my way through the crowded halls of my high school. I pushed my way through the crowd to try and get to my Social Studies class. When I got into the classroom, I saw my teacher, Ms. Re iber, watching the television. I took a look at the television and I knew something serious had just taken place. We all got in our seats and stared at the television like animals stare at their prey.
We were shocked at what was happening and could not believe that it was reality instead of a dream. We spent the whole class period watching CNN and talking about the incident. Our nation was attacked by those who seek to end our way of life, freedom and democracy. When I looked up at my teacher I saw her wiping tears from her eyes, and from that moment forward, I knew I would remember this day for the of my life. I knew I would know where I was when the incident took place, and who was with me during that time.
That day I had to walk home from school. It seemed like it was the longest walk I had ever taken home from school. Looking around I saw major businesses closed and even banks closed. It looked like the city of Lebanon was dead because hardly anyone was on the streets. Everybody must have been in their homes watching the television coverage. The few people that were out on the streets were talking about the incident like I was with my friend who was sitting on her porch.
We were both thinking about, “What if it happens to us in Lebanon? What if one of our buildings is targeted?” We didn’t know what was going to happen. After my long walk home from school I went in my house, and there I saw my family sitting in the living room watching the aftermath of the incident. It was still horrifying seeing people jumping out of the buildings and hearing them hitting the ground. The rest of that night was filled with sitting down watching the news and other channels about the event. A couple days after this horrible event, major things happened. The horrible events were an upset to our country.
The stock markets recorded the biggest economic fall in history. Many people were insecure about flying after that day, and therefore put airlines out of business. These events also caused more people to lose their jobs. Security was increased in airports and other key areas throughout the country. After this horrid day the people of the United States pulled together, and showed great support toward the war on terrorism. Every year when the anniversary of this day comes around I wish to just sit back and reflect.
I have asked myself why those people had to act out such horrifying stunts, and why they would take away all those people’s lives? Why would they make the many families suffer as they have? I remember that it is better to think about the positive side of the events of that September day, and how it caused America to become stronger than ever. It proves we as a country will stick together until we fall.