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  1. I was in Dallas as well. Still am, lived here most of my life. I was in outside sales at the time and one of my customers was the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. I had an appointment that morning, at that point the first tower was hit and I too wrote it off as being an accident by the time I was in the parking lot the second tower had been hit. I went in to the fed building dropped the donuts and literature for my meeting and got out of there as soon as I could. I listened to the radio the horror that unfolded next. Never will forget that day.

  2. I was in school in Ireland, I was with my friend walking in an empty hallway during class when her older brother ran up to tell us what he had just heard on the news – an attack on the twin towers. I remember watching the footage on Irish TV that evening with my family. Scary for us but I can’t imagine what it would have been like to be living in the USA at the time.

  3. I was a junior in college and remember being at the school’s chapel crying my eyes out in fear – being thousands of miles away from home and uncertain if I would ever see them again (my family lives in Europe). It was a life changing moment for all of us!

  4. Whitney, I love this. On September 11th, I found myself in my dorm room at the University of Tampa. Like a lot of college students, I was sleeping when the towers fell. My mom called. She told me to remain calm, pack a bag and she’d come for me if need be. She was in Chicago and the magnitude to which she was speaking didn’t make sense to me at the time. But nonetheless, I was awaken to a different world that morning. A world that I would soon know to drive me… towards my family, to follow my dreams, and most of all, drive me into the depths of my heart. Where would I go from here? That day I decided to drive home. I transferred to art school not long after and changed my life. To me, September 11th signifies moving forward…. like you- I started following my heart that day. I’ve never looked back. I admit I haven’t given much thought to it since, but reading your blog today really stirred me up. I wonder how many other artists/entrepreneurs found their calling on this day as well? Thanks so much for the reflection/remembrance of this moment in time… can’t wait to hear what next Thursday brings 🙂 t

  5. I remember this year more than any year I have every lived, but Sept. 11 was actually the second part of the reason this year will forever be remembered. Just one month earlier, two days before my birthday and just a few days after I had returned to Oklahoma City for my third year of law school, my dad, age 44, passed away from a heart attack…almost instantly. I remember getting the call that my dad was in the ICU. I had just talked to him that morning and he had went to work out. That was the last time I heard his voice. I immediately tried to get home, but there were no available flights back to Indiana until the morning. My heart ached. Something inside of me told me I had to get out that night, but I couldn’t. I took the first flight out the next morning. I had a layover in St. Louis and I will NEVER forget the phone call I made to the hospital. My aunt answered and I said “How is he? Is he still breathing?” My aunt said, “I am going to let you talk to Heidi (my sister.)” She got on the phone and said “Heath, he didn’t make it.” I immediately dropped the phone and started screaming “No, no, no…this can’t be happening!” I was in a pure panic! I ran to the bathroom and started hyperventilating. A sweet lady from Oklahoma held my hand and said “Is everything okay sweetheart? Can I do anything for you?” I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t see…I was in a state of shock. Somehow, that lady helped me on the plane and sat by me on the plane and held my hand the whole flight as I wept. I remember my family greeting me with tears and hugs when I got off the plane, but that is about all I remember until I got back home. I never got to see him alive again. I remember demanding that they take me to the funeral home and let me see him the next day. I spoke to him like it was my last chance. He was lifeless, but that moment, just him and I, changed my life. I promised him that I would take care and look after my mom and my sister. I promised him that I would finish law school, because I knew he would want that. I promised him that I would live my life without regrets and be grateful for each day. Wow…life stopped for awhile.

    I returned back to school in September and that week was the week of Sept. 11th. It felt like somebody was playing a trick on me. What? How is this happening? That year, although VERY painful, gave me strength to live each day to the fullest, imperfections and all. About a week after Sept. 11, I first met my husband at law school. He was and still is my miracle. Now tears are flowing and it feels like it was yesterday. Wow, that year changed my life forever.

  6. I was living in San Diego, and my god mother was working at the Pentagon. I hear my mom yelling at my step dad because he couldn’t get on base. (We’re a military family since the civil war) I was half sleep in bed and I was greeted by my mom with the news of the attacks instead of Happy Birthday.

  7. I was a high school senior on September 11th, and that year I was driving my two little next-door neighbors (12 and 10 at the time) to their school on the way to mine everyday.

    Like most 17-year-olds I woke up a solid 15 minutes before I actually had to get in my car, so I hadn’t turned on a radio or a TV. When the girls rang the doorbell that morning, the younger one started rambling on about planes crashing into New York City – complete with sound effects (“REEEEEEEERRRRRCRASHHHHHHH!”) and flailing arms. She had an adorable habit of NEVER making any sense, so I figured she was talking about a movie she had seen or something. I brushed it off and she didn’t bring it up again for the rest of the car ride. It wasn’t until I got to school that morning that I realized she was talking about something that really happened.

    We stayed at school (except for the few students who knew people in NYC), but we didn’t have regular class. We just stared at the news. And each time the bell rang for the next period, we walked to the next period like silent zombies, and sat back down and continued to watch the news. Counselors were available all day that day and all day for weeks afterward for students that were really traumatized by the events. It was just beyond awful.

  8. I was on Capital Hill IN Washington, DC on Sept 11. It was a horrible day, and it was a bit scary. We evacuated the Capital complex and we watched the horror unfold from home after we evacuated. Life has never been the same since….

  9. I was on a plane from Athens to Bangkok and when we landed everyone’s mobile/cell phones were going off…it was 4am in Bangkok and my husband and I were in our hotel room glued to the TV – unbelievable scenes and feelings from across the other side of the world – I could not imagine how it would feel being in the USA during that devastating day and days after…
    thanks for sharing your story…

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