I was in elementary school, too young to really get it.. they called us into the gymnasium to tell us about it and then I think we got sent home.. I live in Canada so it didnt quite impact me as much in the moment

I was in 10th grade bio lab. My teachers phone rang he picked it up his face went white and he said not now. A kid who was vol fire/ems's pager went off and he exited class not uncommon we had no idea.

English was my next class and said kid told me a plane flew into the WTC. I said it was probably a small prop plane that went terribly off course and crashed. Just then his pager went off again his face went white and he said no there is another.

Class went on as normal as the news had not fully spread yet after class there was a buzz in the halls of terror attacks in NYC. kids were on phones teachers were crying kids were crying life as I had known it in the suburbs of NYC Ended that moment.

Announcements were made classes were canceled but the school stayed open we went from class to class discussing what happened watching the news watching the towers burn.

I cut class and walked to the park on the river with some friends where you could see the skyline we watched the towers burn for a few moments I guess needing to see it in person to see it wasn't all made up that this was real. We walked back to school in silence not sure what to say.

We were sitting in the cafeteria not eating still in shock when the principal got on the PA and called a girl to the office. We went silent we all knew a moment later she came through the lunch room crying her best friends supporting/ carrying her to the office. Her father had been on the pentagon flight.

The rest of the day was a blur it's the days following that stick with me the most. Canceling homecoming so we could send our flood lights to the city for the search. The feeling of community and love flags everywhere going into the city with an SUV. Packed full with donations to search and rescue boots food clothing foam mats bags of dog food for search and rescue does boots to cover their feet from the rubble NYC. Being the quietest I have ever seen it people on stoops sitting and talking with candles lit. I won't forget the day or the weeks following ever.

I live in KY and our Office used to be in a building named the World Trade Center Building.  We received A LOT of telephone calls from worried friends and relatives.

I was at my desk very busy that day and the rest of the Office were standing around a TV.  I did not think much of it until someone yelled it out.  I can even remember what I was wearing that day.

So many people have already forgotten that day, when our country came together and we started to celebrate our nation and Flag again.  I know it is freedom of speech to do whatever you want to do with the American Flag, but that still does not keep you from being an asshole if you burn it or other horrible things.  End of preach.  Sorry.

I was on the way to church an the radio guys were talking about how a radio signal they get went out for a short time and they were wondering why. The relay signal came off of the top of the first tower to get hit. First reports were of a prop plane that got lost. Then we got to church and the second plane hit. We stood watching the tv in the gym of the church for a long time. They decided to go ahead and have normal bible study as it was probably the last normal thing for a while. Watched tv all day. In the following days when we turned the tv on and a man in a suit came on DS would start crying. Especially if it happened to be the president. It was pavoloblin. So we stopped watching the news when he was awake.

I was in my Intro to Anthropology class; the second day of classes of my Freshman year of college. The first plane hit the first tower while we were in class. We had no idea it happened. I didn't know anything was going on until I got back to my dorm room and my mom called me and told me to turn the tv on. I was confused and in shock. Then scared and worried. My best friend was attending Fordham and I knew she had classes at the Lincoln Center campus, but I wasn't sure n the city that was in relation to the WTC.

As the day wore they cancelled classes and we heard more about the planes in Pennsylvania and DC. My parents were worried about us being so close to the FAA and Atlantic City Airport. I wanted to go home (an hour dive north on the GSP to my home on the Jersey Shore), but we decided I was just safe at school in the middle of the Pine Barrens (south New Jersey) as I would have been back in Point Pleasant.

My sister's best friend from camp lost his dad. In our area A LOT of people commuted to work in the city. It seemed like every town in our area lost at least one person that day.

I still can't watch anything on TV about it. My eyes are willing up writing this. I truly feel 9-11 is the Peal Harbor of our generation. I will never forget that day. Never.

I was just a kid, 12 years old. I remember everyone talking about it, but not really know what was going on until I got home from school that day. I remember thinking that everything was going to change. My parents were freaked out, and made us stay in the living room all night. As a parent now, I would do the same. My aunt was supposed to be in New York that day, thank God she wasn't. Everything did change. I think it was the day that us kids realized that America isn't invulnerable.

I was in 10th grade in anatomy & physiology class. My economics teacher came and got us from the next room and we watched it on tv as the second tower fell. Our teacher talked to us the entire time about what this meant, and asked us what we thought about it as  life as we knew it was going to change. I remember being in a numb state, like could this really be happening? I felt sick and sad for those people and afraid for subsequent attacks.

 

I will never forget 9/11/01 

I went to work that day as usually. I was in the office alone every morning until 10am. It was slow, then my Mom called and told me. I didn't believe her. I turned on the radio and sat and listened to it all day. The worst was after work when I got home and turned on the tv. Wow I watched for a couple hours and cried.

I was home on maternity leave from the airline I worked for and my MIL called to see if I was ok. The baby and I had been asleep and had no idea what was going on. When I turned on the tv to see what had happened my heart sank and I immediately started crying. I couldn't even believe what I was watching. Even though I knew no one the loss I felt for them and their families still affects me even now.

I was on my way to work, I got off downtown to transfer buses and ran into my hairdresser, he told me. At that point it was still unknown what exactly was going on. I remember it being a really weird bus ride up to work, usually people are chatting or whatever, and it was really quiet - the bus driver had the radio on and we were all listening. By the time I got to work, more had happened and it was a really weird vibe. I had only been at my job a week, but that day I cried and prayed with my coworkers... I remember thinking how odd it was that I was doing something so personal with 2 people I barely knew. A lot of stores in the area closed that day and sent their employees home, of course the company I worked for didnt, so it was such an odd day...it was like we were in a ghost town. It actually got worse afterwards - the company I worked for had a middle eastern name and we were so incredibly slow for a few weeks after - it was as though our company was guilty by association because of the owner's last name. We got prank calls and hate mail too. (The owner is actually Catholic, by the way) I rmember thinking I may have to quit my new job, but things settled down eventually. It drove home for me that Canada isn't the cultural utopia we like to say we are.
I remember being surprised at the number of people who just sort of shrugged it off and went, "Meh...the US deserved it...got a taste of their own medicine" sort of thing. I've always been a total peacenik so my own reaction didn't surprise me - I was sad and scared. But I remember being disgusted with people who thought it was just, funny even. And for the record, not a single one of these people was of middle-eastern descent or any other "anti-American" nationality. (I know I'm making generalizations here, and I normally avoid those but I think you get my drift). It was my firts lesson in real, true, anti-Americanism. The whole thing definitely changed not only how I looked at some people, but also my view of the world.

I was 19, laying in bed at home because the day before I'd been in a car accident. Some woman t-boned me doing 60-65mph. It literally bent my truck in half. I had a concussion, several hairline fractures throughout my body, and I was so bruised I looked like someone had taken a baseball bat and used me as a piñata. I felt VERY sorry for myself. My boyfriend brought me in a cup of coffee and left my grouchy ass alone to watch the Today Show in peace. I remember feeling nothing but fear and sadness for the rest of the day. I couldn't take my eyes off the TV.

Later that evening I called my Mom. She said she'd spent the entire day trying to call my Uncle Mike, who was supposed to have been on the second plane to hit the towers. Thank God, for the first time in his life, he'd missed his flight. He flies about every two weeks. My heart really sank then. It hit me that this was real, and that there were people everywhere trying to find out the status of loved ones, and a lot of REAL people were gone.

I remember so well. My oldest dd was about 6 at the time. And she was having her tonsils and adnoids(sp?) removed. My ex and I were sitting in a hospital waiting room waiting for her to return from surgery when one of the hospital staff came into the waiting room and flipped the tv on for us. He said "Oh my God. I don't understand.... Oh my God. It's horrible. You have to see this." We sat there and watched in stunned silence with the hospital staff.

It was a surreal moment. And one I will never forget.

My ex H and I were on our way out to his parents house...we heard on the radio that the world trade center had been hit by a plane and we were shocked. By the time we got to his parents house, all hell had broken loose! We were glued to the tv all that day and pretty much for the next week or two. Our friend was supposed to be flying out of JFK that day to go to poland and for whatever reason he chose NOT to go that day and scheduled a flight a few days later. After all of that he didnt go at all! My cousin works for the Dept. of Defense and she was a block from the Pentagon when that plane hit.She said you could hear the rumble of the impact and it was the eeriest sound she had ever heard. God Bless the families and friends of those lost on that terrible day! And THANK YOU to all of the brave FIREMEN and Police Officers who worked countless hours to clean up the disaster after. My heart always hurts today.....

I was in art class in college. The professor had been in his studio next to the classroom and saw it on his tv. He brought in a radio to listen to the events unfold. The newscasters were screaming in panic. When the first tower collapsed he sent us back to our dorms. Walking back the whole campus was silent except for crying. I got back to the house I lived in with 12 others girls and most were home. Our advisor had a flight out of Philly that morning, but she was still there- the airport turned her away. Some of my housemates had parents that worked at the WTC- but everyone's immediate family was ok, at least in our house.

The scariest part was the next day. remember that
all of the planes were grounded in the whole country? So imagine
suddenly hearing the roar of jets. I was walking from north campus to
class through a bottle-neck area by the train tracks. Despite the large
number of students passing through there at the time, it was eerily
quiet. No one was talking. And then suddenly fighter jets scrambled
above our heads, flying north towards New York. Girls screamed. People
collapsed to the ground and covered their heads. Boys and girls alike
were crying in fear. I just stood there and watched them fly over. We
couldn't tell if they were friend or foe at the time. I heard a rumor later that they were an escort for the bodies being
lifted away from the rubble.

I was a medical secretary at Johns Hopkins.  My dad called me and told me what was happening.  My oldest daughter was in school and my middle daughter was at daycare (our youngest had died in March of 01 from SIDS, so I was pretty much on auto pilot anyway)

I had worked really late the night before, and woke up late. Turned on the t.v. While I was getting the kids ready for school, and saw the second plane hit. They didn't go to school that day. Houston was pretty much on lockdown. I lived right in the middle of NASA, Ellington field, Lockheed martin, and didn't know if I was safe or screwed. Grabbed the kids, the kitten, and all the cash I had, and we drove around until all the planes were accounted for. I had no idea where it was even safe to go. The local media did not help the fear and hysteria. My kids were first and third grade, I think.

I was late to class for college, driving around getting a good spot to park and my radio was on. I kept switching the stations looking for a song and not finding one when I realized two things, first that there was almost no one at the school and two that everyone on the radio stations were talking seriously about something. But I was late for class so I parked and ran to class only to find I couldn't use the elevator it was shut down. Got to my class and found the note on the door saying all classes canceled due to today's events. I went back to my car and finally listened. I sat in shock in the parking lot for hours, listening as the towers went down and all that. Finally drove home and watched the news. Seeing it snapped me out of my teenage mindset that I was the only important person in the world. I finally saw the country that I was part of and witnessed unity happening afterward that I had only read about in books.

I had just woke up and turned on the TV on a non-news cable channel, and thought, "what the hell movie is this."  It was a full 20 minutes for me to realize it was actually happening.  I had been in New York just about 3 weeks earlier for some meetings.

I suddenly feel old since so many of you were in elementary school.  I was at home after my 2nd child was born two weeks earlier. Breastfeeding in bed as dh slept. My MIL called and told me to turn on the TV.  Post-Prego hormones didn't help the tears and shock.  I remember how eire and quiet the sky was when there were no planes since I live close to an airport...and not too far from an airforce base.

My parents were on vaca two states away, and ended up renting a car to drive home since there was no way they would get on a plan.

I was in Ammo Accounting class, shooting the shit with the instructor, when the base CO came into the classroom and ushered us into the lunch area.  The first plane just hit the WTC and we walked in as the second plane hit.  Then all hell broke loose and we were all recalled back to our commads.  We had 4 hours to go home and pack for an indefinite deployment.

We ended up not deploying, but several ships went underway for a week or so (my ship was in dry dock and they were debating whether to keep us on base for guard duty or to assign us to deploy with other ships).  This happened almost a year after the USS Cole was attacked on October 12, 2000. 

I was on my first deployment and we were in Yemen providing medical service and conducting humaniarian work.  We were immediatey recalled back to the ship and went to the other side of Yemen, where the Cole was docked, listing in the ocean with a gaping hole in her side.  My department, the Weapons Department, was in charge of gathering the survivers, standing guard on the Cole, standing guard in the RHIB boats circling the perimeter, and providing armed escorts and assisting the corpsmen with searching for injured survivers and remains.  I know the terrorist attacks of 9/11 impacted the world on a more grand scale than the bombing of the USS Cole, but 17 sailors lost their lives to the first terrorst attack against the US.  This attack was the precursor to 9/11 and was carried out by the same Al Queda group that orchistrated 9/11.  Please pray for and remember those that lost their lives during the attack on the USS Cole. This attack gets no media attention, no recognition, no memorial.  Most people don't even know or remember it happened.   

I was 13. I live in Oregon. I remeber feeling so helpless. I wanted to run and help right then. I remember being glued to the tv, and all the chaos. I was on my way to school, my hand was on the door to leave since it was 8 am our time, so 11 am in the East Coast. I went to school after seeing a little bit since my father called telling my mom about it. No teachers said anything so we did not get scared. I remember not hearing much, and having to watch tv programs later on to learn more about it. I did not really hear many details until after 2005. I remember being worried since we were told shortly after we were going to war, and after hearing stories in school it worried me. I do remember that America was so tight knit, and close. We were united and it was amazing, but I am sad we have since lost it. It is something that has always stuck with me, and every year I remember this day and to not take life for granted. I also take time to think,and pray for all the people lost that day, and since then due to that horrific day! I also got such chills watching the tv, and how silent NY, PA was after. It was such a busy city, and that next couple months was so quiet, from the footage and everything it was so eerie!

It made all the tv chanels here show breaking news all day. I was sitting in my Graphic Design class when my flat mate txt me, our tutor turning the radio to the news station. We were all shocked and horrified. Spent the rest of that class listening to it. Class finished at 12 so when I got home me and flat mate spent the afternoon in front of the tv.