I woke on the morning of september 11th prepared to face it like any other day. i got dressed and rode the bus to my high school school where i am a sophmore.it started out normally enough. all that changed though. i walked into my 4th period class and my teacher had the t.v. on. i was suprised because we usually don’t watch channel 1 until after lunch. but there was a different reason for the television to be on. my friend quickly explained that a plane had crashed into the world trade center in new york. i was shocked. at first i thought it had to have been a terrible accident. maybe the pilot lost control or the plane had mechanical difficlties. all those thoughts soon vanished as we watched in helpless horror as a second plane slammed into the second tower. that’s when everyone knew that this was no accident. i was to speechless and in too much shock to do anything but stare at the fiery buildings on the t.v. in front of me. then the newscaster said that another plane had hit the pentagon and a few minutes later we were told of the plane that went down in pennslyvania. when the towers collapsed it only added to our despair. my dad is in the military so i was terrified, thinking that he might be sent off right away because as far as we all knew, this was an act of war. i, along with the rest of my fellow classmates, went through the day in quiet disbelief. i still hadn’t shed and tears yet though. looking back i think its because i still thought it was all some horrific nightmare. i got home and went immeadiately to our t.v. watching as the smoke slowly started to clear we caught our first glimpse of what was left of the twin towers. thats when i finally cried. i cried for the lives lost, for the heroes who risked their lives. i cried for the families who would never again see their loved ones. and after i finished crying the anger settled it. the utter rage and hate. how could they do this to us? i remember every emotion and every last detail from that day. what i was wearing and how i was feeling. what went through my head as all the events unfolded before us. i remember waking up the next day and praying that it was all a dream…then waking up and seeing that it was all very, very real. its been almost 7 months now. but it feels like it was just yesterday. all i know is that i will never again take for granted the simple things in life. and i will never again just assume that freedom comes easily and without a fight. but we are a great nation. the best. slowly things are getting back to normal. but they wont ever be the same. because we will always have the memories and the knowledge of what happened that day, and we will NEVER forget. GOD BLESS AMERICA!!