9/11 Interview

One of my good friends is related to the 9/11 attacks in a way unlike many others. She didn’t know anyone who died and she wasn’t in New York City, Washington D.C. or Pennsylvania. Her uncle however, George W. Bush was the President of the United States.

I was 12 years old, in 7^th grade when the terrorist attacks took place. I was in my first class of the day--Spanish class. A teacher walked in, and announced a plane crashed into one of the twin towers, my Spanish teacher wouldn't be bothered, and continued on with class. Later in the day, as developments started to unfold, I didn't know what to think. At that age I wasn't aware of how iconic the World Trade Center towers were. My mom took my siblings and I out of class immediately, fearing for our safety. We camped out at home watching the horrible news over and over. A lot of people from school thought I had disappeared to a 'secret location'. I didn't know anyone who was directly affected by the attacks. However, I had family members that were around the area on that day, and felt the brunt of the terror that faced the day.

I didn’t go back to school for about a week but soon it went back to normal. Being in Texas most of the families at my school were not directly affected in terms of losing loved ones. At 12 years old I didn’t really understand what a terrorist attack was but let’s be honest, a lot of America didn't understand. It was initially hard to fathom such hatred especially when a lot of it was directed at my family.

After the 9/11 attacks, threats were made on the extended families safety. Secret service was assigned to each member of my family for about a year after that. My code name was 'trapeze' although I have no idea why. They were reported to us couple of months after the 9/11 attacks. The poor secret service had to post outside of my school all day. When my brother and I would drive to school together in his car, we had a trail of 3 cars following--we looked ridiculous pulling into our schools driveway. My mom always loved it because she always knew we were safe. They were the kind of secret service that blended in they didn't wear all black or anything, so we could all live somewhat normal lives.

The first anniversary I don't really remember what I did. I think I was with my grandparents and most of the family in Houston. It's hard to believe that it was 10 years ago already. I am not sure how I will spend the day but the memory of all the people that lost their lives will be in my thoughts.