On 9/11, I was in 1st grade.

I live 22 miles from Manhattan, central New Jersey(Middlesex county).

I remember where I was on that day. I don’t recall any discussion of 9/11 in my school. At the time, our school had TVs and I do remember the lights were off.

Our day came to me and my brother with the news, but left us at school. I remember his words, “The world trade center blew up”. My mom was a volunteer EMT and we didn’t know where she was going. Our dad picked us up later, and we went to our grandma’s house in Freehold, Monmouth County.

We watched it at our grandma’s house. When I think of my grandma’s house, all I can think of is the broad view of New York from Sandy Hook, which is nearby to Freehold.