0480775
Professor Diamond
English 51 (T/R)
18 September 2012

Now They Are Gone.
Black clouds covered the sky, scraps of buildings flying and the terrifying screeching and crying of the crowd is how many remember September 11th, 2001. The city that was full of life, lights and people changed in an instant. September eleventh was a chaotic event that changed the views of not only our country, but the world as well.
What seemed like a normal day in my life was actually a life changing event two thousand eight hundred miles away. I was in the fifth grade when terrorists crashed a plane into the twin towers. I lived in a decently small city in San Diego, California. I had never been to New York, but I always wanted to go. I got up and got dressed for school then walked to school. My teacher’s name was Mrs. Brady, and she was a cheerful and outgoing teacher, but on this morning she was unusually somber and seemed nervous. I remember her on the phone for the first few minutes of class. The principal spoke over the intercom “Students, we are releasing everyone early to go home.” I was happy. My father did not have work, so I went to his house. The news was on every channel and I just wanted to watch a “kid show” I kept telling my father. When my mother got off of work, my parents sat me down to talk.
“Why don’t I have school today?” I asked.
“The school felt it was best for everyone to be home because there has been an attack on the largest building in New York City.” They replied.
“What do you mean?” not fully understanding them.
“People from another country, terrorists, have stolen and used a plane to hit a building that many people worked in. Those people were killed.”
They then proceeded to turn on the news as I watched a surreal image of the second tower being hit. Black clouds and debris filled the streets and air. There is a great difference of how I viewed September eleventh when it happened and now eleven years later. Eleven years ago, I did not understand why someone would want to harm people and what their motives were for killing, so I did not fully understand the terror. Now that I am aware and fully capable of understanding the extent of what happened on September 11th, it has changed my view of life. Although I wish such a tragic event did not occur and I wish people were not killed, I am lucky that I lived so far away, nestled in my little town. Security in the United States has improved very much, especially at the airports. Strict rules and regulations are now in place at the airports which make for a feeling of safety when traveling. Such a surreal image of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers will never escape my mind.