Remember

10 years ago, I was a sophomore in high school.  When the bell rang to end my second period English class, I walked next door to my World Civ class and sat down at my desk, trying to finish some last minute homework.  My teacher rushed in, and told us to "sit down & shut up"--unusual since the bell wouldn't ring for at least three minutes.  He ran over to the t.v. and we watched as the second plane hit the World Trade Center.  We all sat in shock, not knowing what was going on, or what would happen next.  The whole class period, we sat glued to the television, only taking our eyes off to listen to our teacher, who was in the Reserves, theorize about what might happen next.  The bell rang to end class and still in shock, we headed down the halls to our next class.  The thing I remember most clearly is that as you walked down the hall, you could tell who knew and who didn't.  Whose life was still going on as normal, and whose world had been turned upside down.  In my 4th period french class, we continued to watch the coverage.  Chemistry, 5th period, didn't have a working television, so instead we talked.  Our teacher told us that our generation would remember this day like her generation remembers the day JFK was assassinated.  She could tell us what she was doing, what she was wearing--she clearly remembered the day in vivid detail.  I can't remember what I was wearing, but September 11 is my most vivid memory from high school.  My last class of the day was newspaper, and for weeks, we watched news coverage, and did "free writes" about our reactions to the attacks.  That night, there was a vigil at church, and my friends and I went to the children's chapel, and talked and cried and wondered what it all meant. 

Today, I read newspaper articles and watched commercials, and cried again, and I still wonder what it all means.  What I do know is that it's a day that will never be forgotten.