9/11/01: A school day like no other.Sept. 11, 2001, was my fourth day of sixth grade. I had just started middle school at IS-89, four blocks from the World Trade Center. I remember forcing myself to focus on my teacher's lesson about ancient Egypt  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. , when I noticed I had forgotten to write the date at the
top of my notes. I scribbled in 9/11 and smirked to myself, realizing
the date was the emergency telephone number. Then the world fell apart.
I guess you could say we were lucky that the blinds were pulled down. We felt the building shake a little bit and heard a shattering boom. I thought it was a big car accident. Ten minutes later, we were told to evacuate e·vac·u·ate v. 1. To empty or remove the contents of. 2. To excrete or discharge waste matter, especially of the bowels. . When I got downstairs, I saw eighth-graders crying, and I knew something terrible had happened. Then I saw my mom's friend, Michelle, who grabbed me and led me outside. As I worried that I'd get in trouble for leaving without telling my teacher, it never crossed my mind that I wouldn't return to that building for months. And that's when I first saw it: a fire in the sky, an enormous hole with flames and black smoke at the top of the North Tower of the Trade Center. I could feel the heat of the fire on my face, even four city blocks away. RUNNING FOR OUR LIVES Michelle took me to the nearby elementary school elementary school: see school. where my mom works and where I used to go. For the next hour, we were herded from room to room, as the police tried to figure out what was best for us. At some point during that time, the second plane hit the South Tower. Finally, we were told to leave, but it turned out to be exactly the wrong moment. As the first tower collapsed behind us, my mother and I raced hand-in-hand away from an enormous cloud of smoke and debris. I remember the feeling of thick dust sticking to my tear-stained cheeks as we ran for our lives. I remember thinking that these kinds of things only happen in movies, not to me. The rest of that day is a blur blur (blur) indistinctness, clouding, or fogging. spectacle blur the indistinct vision with spectacles occurring after removal of contact lenses, especially non–gas-permeable lenses; it is of tears, coughs, ash-covered sweaters, and unanswered phone calls. I do remember sitting in an office and feeling hopeless, when suddenly my father and older sister walked in. We had been trying to call them. We found ourselves wrapped in an almost suffocating suf·fo·cate v. suf·fo·cat·ed, suf·fo·cat·ing, suf·fo·cates v.tr. 1. To kill or destroy by preventing access of air or oxygen. 2. To impair the respiration of; asphyxiate. 3. group hug group hug is a website that publishes anonymous confessions. Readers of the site are encouraged to "confess" using a simple form. All confessions go through a lengthy public screening process before appearing on the main page. . A CONFUSING WORLD It's been five years. We were lucky: We weren't hurt, and our home wasn't destroyed. I learned that day what it feels like to run for your life, that we live in a confusing world, and how hugely important my family is to me. To be honest, I don't think about that day very often. Maybe I've blocked it out, or just gotten over it. Or maybe all the terror has just been made up for by the gift of five years of everyday life. Send us your 500-word story, along with your name, address, and phone number. if we publish it, we'll pay you $100. The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times Upfront, 557 Broadway. New York, NY 10012; or upfront@scholastic.com. Emily Sussell is a junior at the Institute of Collaborative Learning Collaborative learning is an umbrella term for a variety of approaches in education that involve joint intellectual effort by students or students and teachers. Collaborative learning refers to methodologies and environments in which learners engage in a common task in which each in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . |
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