7th Year Anniversary of Sept. 11th

Today is September 11th and I thought it would be appropriate to write about my experiences, memories, and how that day changed all New Yorkers. Even though the terrorist attacks happened 7 years ago to many New Yorkers this day forever reminds us to appreciate life and freedom. Perhaps only New Yorkers really feel the impact of that day and it is a scar on our hearts that only make us stronger.

I was eating breakfast that day, I had class later in the morning so I was taking my time and watching the news. I remember I went to the bathroom and when I came back the news changed to exclusive coverage of plane crashing into one of the twin towers.

I immediately called my aunt on the phone to see if she was watching what I was seeing. At first perhaps we were both optimistic thinking it was an accident since this is New York and there is a lot of air traffic especially where I live which is just 5 minutes from the airport. But then as we were both on the phone trying to reassure ourselves there on the TV we saw a second plane hit the second twin tower.

I don't remember hanging up but in that moment terror seized my heart. It was no accident.

Then as I began to dial the telephone number of my mother the first tower collapsed and plums of smokey and debris litter the city I knew so well. Flash backs of the many trips I took to the twin towers and how beautiful it was inside brought tears to my eyes. Then just when all the news casters were voicing their hopes that the other tower would still stand we could only wait and watch as eventually the second tower fell.

It was only then that I realized the amount of people who were in those buildings. My thoughts immediately went to my sister who worked in union square which is about 2 miles away from ground zero. She was fine but then she told me that her friend Desmond works in the financial center which was located beneath the towers.

After that the phone lines went dead, too many people were calling family so the phone lines couldn't keep up eventually in three hours they would be up again.

Then because of the threat to security all New York airports were closed and secured. How that affected me is that I was basically a prisoner in my own neighborhood. One of the main streets is an entry path to the airport so that was sealed off with military vehicles and for the first time in my life there were no airplanes in the sky. That silence affected my neighbors and I more than the military vehicles.

That night my sister finally got word to us that she was home safe. As well as no air traffic there was no more trains. Many people who worked in the city had to walk home and my sister was one of them it took her 6 hours to get home.

For 3 days my neighborhood was a protected zone and the city was no different. You had to show ID to get in or out. I didn't go to school the first day but the second day I went. It was a little difficult because since my bus is an airport bus it was out of service in my neighborhood so I had to walk a good distance to where it was allowed to run.

At school I can safely say 50% of the population did not attend even 50% of the faculty was missing. However the 50% of us who attended were exposed to high doses of the dust and fumes because my campus is located across the water from the towers in queens.

Because of that exposure I and many others developed respiratory problems and allergies we never had before. It took many years for the effects of the exposure to eventually wear off but even today my lungs have never been strong.

What I learned in those 3 days and every day after is the strength of New Yorkers. We came together and pushed forward. There were many stories of bravery and tears and our innocence was lost; but we persevered.

In one day a city that was my playground became a harsh reminder that America is never safe. But even with that knowledge my life continues, I still go to the city and enjoy it. The events of that day created a scar but it did not kill my love of the city. Of course it took 7 years for me to visit ground zero and as I did I remembered how out of this tragedy we as New Yorkers came together and lived each day to the fullest. We did not let the terrorists take our lives away from us.