For many, September 11, 2001 is a day that will forever be seared in our memories. Although most college women were only in elementary school at the time of the attacks, we still recall the emotions and hardships of that day. We asked 10 college women to reflect on what they were thinking on 9/11 on its 14th anniversary.
1. "I was in school (first grade) and it was on TV and they let us out early--but it didn't seem real. I didn't really understand what was happening."
-Allison, a junior at James Madison University
2. "I wasn't sure what was going on. I remember teachers coming in and out of the classrooms talking to the other teachers. Then my mom and dad picked me up early. I was so excited to see my mom because she never got to pick me up since she works in the ciy. She then said, 'Some bad people hurt New York today.' I didn't understand at the time what she meant, but as I got older, I realized what happened."
-Lauren, a junior at Rutgers University
3. "I just remember being very confused sitting in class and everyone's parents were picking them up as we all watched movies on the rug. My mom picked me up at the end of the day and tried to show me on TV what had happened. I just remember being confused and upset but was happy because my mom told me my neighbor was supposed to be at that building but went to a meeting in Connecticut instead."
-Emily, a junior at Clemson University
4. "I remember my mom picking me up from school and we sat in the driveway in the car. My mom was listening to the radio for like an hour."
-Lauren, a junior at University of Rhode Island
5. "My mom let me go on with my day because she knew I wouldn't understnad. The next day in school we all wrote letters to the service men and women."
-Emily, a junior at Rutgers University
6. "I remember being in first grade and getting out of school early, but I wasn't really sure what was going on."
-Brooke, a junior at James Madison University
7. "The teachers were trying to keep us all calm and I was so confused. We were all leaving and upset."
-Emily, a student at Cape Fear Community College
8. "I remember being in my first grade classroom and I saw through the window that my mom was walking into my school. I went home and my mom put the news on; I vaguely remember seeing the planes crashing into the building, but I had no way of conceptualizing what was happening. Now that I am older and know what happened, I can't believe I lived through that. It's something that will definitely stay with me forever."
-Taylor, a junior at Temple University
9. "I was watching a science movie with our whole first grade class and I remember seeing all of our teachers walking around whispering and then parents started showing up and picking their kids up and I didn't really get what was happening. The next day my mom brought me and my sister to the fire station in Arlington and we gave out cookies to the firefighters. I didn't know it then, but they were the first responders to the Pentagon."
-Molly, a junior at James Madison University
10. "All we knew was that something 'very bad' happened and we were safest at home. I came home to my mother and grandmother watching the 24/7 news coverage showing the same disturbing images over and over. All I understood at the time was that very bad people had let something very bad happen in my favorite city in the world. I am forever grateful that no one in my family was hurt (we were relieved that my uncle, who worked only a block away from the Twin Towers, was safe), but we've always said that in our area, 'everybody knew somebody' who was somehow affected."
-Meghan, a junior at Northeastern University
Our thoughts are with people who lost family, friends and loved ones on this tragic day.
