S. Saeler--Defining Moment

The moment of 9/11

          On September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 people were killed. Many police officers and firefighters were killed during the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City. I remember being in Mrs. Charlie’s Kindergarten class when it happened. All of the teachers were scared and the students could tell something was going on. My mom came to pick me up from school very quick and took me to my grandma’s house. I wanted to watch cartoons, but all the adults were so focused on watching the same thing happen over and over again. It is like they could not believe what they were seeing. I kept telling them over and over that I wanted to watch Toy Story, and they just kept saying, “Shhh.” I was very mad, but I began to watch what was happening. I kept hearing my grandparents and parents talk about it, but I really did not understand what happened. That night, when my mom was putting me in bed, I asked her what they were watching on T.V. She explained that the World Trade Center had been attacked and that many people had not survived. I remember not being able to sleep that night because I kept thinking they were going to attack our house. I also had no idea what the World Trade Center was, so that made it even scarier. I got in the bed with my mom and she assured me they would not attack our house. I finally got a couple hours of sleep, and then I had to get up again to get ready for school. I had kind of forgotten about it by the time I got to school, and then all the other kids were talking about it. I remember getting scared all over again because they were telling me things their parents had told them. For a couple of weeks I had to sleep with my mom because I was so scared. I remember all I could think about was something happening like that at school or at my home.