It was 10 am or something and some random girl ran up to us as we were leaving the Psych building screaming, "some planes flew into the Pentagon and knocked it over!"
I remember thinking this girl was a moron, you can't "knock over" the pentagon. It is the biggest, flattest building ever...
But then as we walked down Waterman we noticed crowds of people clustered around a couple of cars with their doors open, radios blasting. People had their arms around each other, listening intently. A couple of girls were crying.
The first thing I heard was "Oh my god! Oh my god! The second tower of the world trade center has just fallen."
I still get chills thinking about it. It was such an unfathomable image in my head. It took several seconds to register. The second tower falling meant that one tower had already fallen. The WTC, with it's 104 floors or so, collapsing with all those thousands of people inside. I couldn't believe it.
Somehow Kathryn was next to me. I don't remember if we left class together or what. But we just held each other in shock as we listened to the stunned, speechless radio reporters. We ran upstairs back into the Psych building and found a classroom with a big screen tv. The room was filled with people who had come in to see what was happening. It just didn't seem real.
I called my parents. I don't remember what was said. I think they were watching the same thing. The rest of that day was a blur. I remember calling Kristy in Chicago who was fast asleep. She mumbled, "yeah I heard" and then went back to sleep. I thought that was odd. I think we all spent the rest of the afternoon in a dazed, confused state. I remember thinking all the petty little arguments I have with people are such a stupid waste of time. I remember rethinking my life and my priorities and realizing that stressing about stupid shit is stupid when you should just enjoy what you're doing and have fun.
I don't really know why I'm writing any of this. I think that I just want to get it down and written because it's not a feeling I ever want to forget. Maybe I've also been thinking about it because I've been a little worried about what I'm going to do next with my life. I'm not worried about finding a job. I'm just worried about finding a job that I love. I worry about wasting time. And not enjoying what I do. Because that would be the absolute worst thing. Working at a job that I hate. Because life is a journey. This past year has been an awesome journey. I've learned so much and have had so many awesome crazy experiences that I'll remember and talk about for the rest of my life, regardless of what I end up doing.
When I went to visit Ground Zero a year later. I remember being really moved by the last standing remnant of the whole disaster (pictured below).
Oh I am tired. I think that was a long rambling post. I worked from 6am to 9pm today. I'll write about that tomorrow.
