It was a Tuesday.
I hadn't been in school very long.
In fact, the more I think about it, school had just started. I know this because I was on my way to class. Once I got used to the whole college life, going to class became something I did with much less frequency.
It was a history class. I had passed AP Modern European History, but apparently just passing wasn't good enough for my university, so around 8:30 AM, I was on my way to History 101. Or was it 102? Anyway, I had already taken the class.
It was a pretty day. I remember that. Blue sky, not too many clouds. A day where, as a wide-eyed freshmen, you stroll the campus with enthusiasm, grateful that you chose a school where co-eds in tight pants roamed freely.
I had just about made it to my lecture hall when I passed a girl I vaguely recognized from class, heading in the other direction. This girl, who would become a near and dear friend in the years to follow, informed me that class was canceled.
I remember griping about how inconsiderate it was of the professor to cancel class so abruptly. After all, I had walked a whole half mile for nothing. Still, no class meant I could return to my dorm room and play video games all morning. Things could be worse...
As I approached the entrance to my residence hall, I spotted another acquaintance of mine, enjoying an early morning nicotine fix. We shot the breeze for a minute or two, and then this wise upper-classman told me to head upstairs and turn on the TV.
"Something has happened," he said, staring up at the sky. "I don't think it's good."
---
I remember sitting in my dorm room with the door open all day long, watching CNN (a channel I had never viewed before that day). I hosted a carousel of friends and even the occasional stranger. We all had televisions in our rooms, but none of us wanted to be alone.
I called my mother at work. She was 200 miles from New York City, but I still called her. I needed to hear her voice. I was an 18 year old college freshman who needed my mom to tell me everything was OK.
We sat and we watched. Watching without speaking. Trying to make some sense of the madness the world had become.
---
When I look back on the events of that day, I think about how beautiful the morning was.
How much I enjoyed that walk to class.
How irritated I was about the professor who couldn't take the time to e-mail us, so I could have slept in. (The man lived in New York State, oddly enough, and canceled class due to his 5 year old son's illness. He spent the day much as we all did, except he had to explain to his child why everyone on TV looked so scared.)
How much I was looking forward to a few carefree hours playing video games.
And how in a span of a few minutes, the entire world had changed.
---
I hadn't been in school very long.
In fact, the more I think about it, school had just started. I know this because I was on my way to class. Once I got used to the whole college life, going to class became something I did with much less frequency.
It was a history class. I had passed AP Modern European History, but apparently just passing wasn't good enough for my university, so around 8:30 AM, I was on my way to History 101. Or was it 102? Anyway, I had already taken the class.
It was a pretty day. I remember that. Blue sky, not too many clouds. A day where, as a wide-eyed freshmen, you stroll the campus with enthusiasm, grateful that you chose a school where co-eds in tight pants roamed freely.
I had just about made it to my lecture hall when I passed a girl I vaguely recognized from class, heading in the other direction. This girl, who would become a near and dear friend in the years to follow, informed me that class was canceled.
I remember griping about how inconsiderate it was of the professor to cancel class so abruptly. After all, I had walked a whole half mile for nothing. Still, no class meant I could return to my dorm room and play video games all morning. Things could be worse...
As I approached the entrance to my residence hall, I spotted another acquaintance of mine, enjoying an early morning nicotine fix. We shot the breeze for a minute or two, and then this wise upper-classman told me to head upstairs and turn on the TV.
"Something has happened," he said, staring up at the sky. "I don't think it's good."
---
I remember sitting in my dorm room with the door open all day long, watching CNN (a channel I had never viewed before that day). I hosted a carousel of friends and even the occasional stranger. We all had televisions in our rooms, but none of us wanted to be alone.
I called my mother at work. She was 200 miles from New York City, but I still called her. I needed to hear her voice. I was an 18 year old college freshman who needed my mom to tell me everything was OK.
We sat and we watched. Watching without speaking. Trying to make some sense of the madness the world had become.
---
When I look back on the events of that day, I think about how beautiful the morning was.
How much I enjoyed that walk to class.
How irritated I was about the professor who couldn't take the time to e-mail us, so I could have slept in. (The man lived in New York State, oddly enough, and canceled class due to his 5 year old son's illness. He spent the day much as we all did, except he had to explain to his child why everyone on TV looked so scared.)
How much I was looking forward to a few carefree hours playing video games.
And how in a span of a few minutes, the entire world had changed.
---
