Where were you 11 yrs ago today 9-11

I'd just gotten to work. Everybody was in the break room watching TV. And at the time the second plane hadn't crashed yet. So we thought it was some bizarre accident.

Then the second plane.

And my heart fell. I'll never ever forget the horror of that day.

I was in 10th grade in math class, we were on a break and one of the students came running back into the room saying that a plane had hit the Pentagon, we argued with him saying that that was restricted air space and you can't just fly over it. A few minutes later we were all in another classroom watching the TV showing the footage of not only the pentagon but the Twin Towers. We did have normal classes that day and no one got sent home, I remember the feeling of shock and confusion that all of us walked around with that day.
I'll never forget.

I was at work and I couldn't believe what was happening. I work in IT at an Ivy League University and didn't know what to do or if we were next. When everything was occurring, it was so hard to believe what was going on that it felt like a dream (really a nightmare). It wasn't until later in the day that everything sort of sank in.

I had just started my freshman year of high school. Once we got word of what was going on, all we did the rest of the day was keep our eyes glued to every TV in every class. It was heartbreaking knowing that this tragedy was happening only 100 or so miles to the south of where I sat.

11 years later, I'm proud to say I work in the NYS Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Services-Fire Prevention and Control. I work with firefighters who went down to NYC that day to help with the aftermath and recovery efforts. I'm so thankful that I'm able to share 5 days out of every week with heroes. We have dogs in the office that are now retired that walked through the rubble to help find people who were trapped or dead.

9/11 hits me so hard every year. We have photos and posters everywhere. on the wall directly in front of my desk is a poster of the iconic photo of three firefighters erecting the flag at ground zero. there's another poster in one of our branch offices which bears the names and photos of all the FDNY personnel who died. the names of the 343 firefighters who lost their lives that day are engraved on a granite wall in the capitol plaza two blocks from my office, which I help maintain and I also help get the names of other fallen firefighters onto that wall.

For weeks before and after this day, my mind is stuck on nothing but the events of that day and those poor people in the buildings and on the planes. Our museum has a huge collection of items recovered from the site, including an FDNY fire truck that was damaged and still has remnants of soot and dust from the collapse on it, not to mention one of the steel beams of the buildings.

I'm so glad I can be around these people who put their lives on the line every day to save others.

Just got back from PE and was about to start math class. I was 10. I didn't even know what the twin towers were but I remember watching it on TV and crying my eyes out

I was a kindergarten teacher in NJ. Many of our students in the school had parents or relatives working in the tower. I know two families who lost loved ones and many who escaped by the grace of God. My cousin is an emergency nurse practitioner who waited and waited to treat the wounded. None ever came... That day is etched in my mind forever.

I was on my way to work when the first plane hit. That day, the entire office stayed close to the phone and the television reliving the horrification that was 9/11. My heart cries when I remember the tragic loss to all the families involved. I lost friends and co-workers, I will never forget this monumental time.

I was in college and just finished up a morning class on my way to my part time job when I heard about it on the radio. I was so confused as to what was going one. When I arrived at my job everyone was standing around tv's, and my mom who was working there also at the time was in tears as my Dad's friend was on one of the planes. Will never forgot the lives lost that day!

I was on the bus, on my way to school. Grade 10. That's when I first heard about it. Of course, I didn't believe what had happened. I can't remember what happened that day at school though. All I remember was the bus ride in.

I remember that day vividly. It was the day after my birthday and I decided to take the first half of the day off because I had a late night out. I was online when news of the first plane hitting began to spread so I turned the T.V. on for live coverage. As I was watching T.V. I saw the second plane plow into Tower #2. It was in that instant that I decided I needed to shed a few pounds. What does weight have to do with a terror attack you ask? Well I needed to shed those extra pounds because when I saw the second plane hit that tower on live television I knew then that it was no accident and as I sat there appauled and angry I decided I had to do something; for me that something was to re-enlist in the military by means of the Minnesota Army National Guard (134th FSB Red Bulls).

In history class.. in High School... watching this on the news...trying to understand why some classmates were crying- SO confused! I'm from a small town where there are many retirees. I just didn't understand how this event would impact my future and everyone else's future forever.

Now, 11 years later- I work with TSA helping to support their mission to protect our citizens.

These stories and how it changed lives are amazing and heartbreaking
To all of the military people on this thread THAMK YOU so much for all you and your families do!

I was at work here in MN walked into the kitchen area and saw everyone standing around the TV - we first thought someone had just lost control of a plane and then the second one hit - I called my mom who was watching my then 6 month old - I remember hugging him so tight that day!

Today he is a 6th grader and at dinner last night we talked about this and where we were and why people do things like this - today at school this is what they will study - so sad this is part of our history.

I was living at my grandma's while going to college. She always slept with the TV on and it was super loud. I'd often have dreams about what was on TV,so when the first plane hit I thought it was a dream.

I got up and saw that it was real. I ended up staying home from class that day. I had a boyfriend who was in basic training in the Army at the time. He wasn't allowed to call home for a week because they were on total lockdown.

This thread is beautiful. To read how everyone's life has and was effected, no matter who you are or where you live. Peace, love and light be with everyone today.

I was in class at University of Toronto. Someone whispered to me and my friend that a bomb went off at the Pentagon. A few minutes later he told us that it was a plane. We thought he was joking because of how unbelievable it was. When class was over, we saw TVs on all over the University, and then really understood what was happening. They didn't cancel classes. Strange in retrospect... I even had to go to work that night, at one of the big financial institutes. We were all upset to be there, because in Mississauga, the building was spanking new and was nicknamed the twin towers. It is only 1/10 of the size of the real towers, but is a building for an important financial institute near the airport.

From that year forward, the security and the safety guidelines changed in the building. They weren't called fire drills anymore. They were called "Emergency Building Evacuation" practice. They made us do it 4 times a year for a few years, and they still practice it twice a year.

Sitting in training at US Coast Guard Air Station Savannah, couldn't believe what we watched that moring. Had to launch on a Search and Rescue case that night, it was the loneliest night of flying you could possibly imagine, no voices on the radios, no tower or controls telling us what to do.... it was eerie..... when we found the boat we were looking for, we picked the people up and took them into Titusville Airport in Florida. We were grounded for the next four days, they wouldn't let us fly home since we were no longer a Search and Rescue assett..... Pray for all the families that were affected by this tragedy!