Sep
11th
2015
9-11 · 5:10pm Sep 11th, 2015
Once again we find ourselves at the date that changed many people's lives, most for the worst, but some for the better. For me, it was the day I sat in front of the TV and said "I want to help people, I want to join the military." I was only twelve at the time, but damn if I didn't grow up and join the Army. What about you guys? I know some of you may have already shared such things on other anniversaries of this date, but this is still my first year here, so forgive this fool his curiosity.
I was 12. I remember waking up and walking in to see my mom watching the tv, just as the second airliner hit. My family lived near a nuclear weapons disposal facility, so everyone kind of panicked thinking we would be hit next. Mom gathered me and my siblings up in the car, and drove halfway across the state before she calmed down. Today, I am a university senior in the field of Aerospace Security. Never again.
Was in the process of joining the army at the time, the middle of AIT even. The pulled us all down into the lounge to the big screen tv that was there and all I could think was 'Oh shit.'
If the wind was not blowing east that day, I would have been covered in that horrible dust.
I watched Manhattan get covered in the dust cloud, it took weeks to dissipate.
Someone by the same name as my father was reported dead; my mum got a few phones calls of people saying 'sorry for your loss.'
My mum also works in an hospital directly across the river, the children's ward had drawings of people on fire jumping out of the buildings.
I also remember the fighter jets screaming across the sky and the highway through my town (which goes directly to the city) was empty, police were blocking all routes to and from, only emergency vehicles were allowed.
The event was too big for my emotions to handle at the time, I finally cried over a month later when I saw the giant heat-twisted beams of the buildings being removed.
I had never cried as hard as I did then.
I was on TV at the time (no, seriously), so I was a bit preoccupied with the whole "live feed of the towers collapsing" thing to be able to think much about it. As a European, though, it didn't actually change much of anything for me. Went to one or two peace demonstrations, occasionally heard about it on the news, but altogether we were not really bothered by either the terrorists or acts of terrorism. I was more concerned with stuff that was closer to home, but I suppose that's how it was for most people everywhere.