ST. LOUIS - Sitting with my back against my high school locker, I was hurrying to finish my homework during my free period. A girl from my French class walked by me in the hall and mumbled something about checking the news on the Internet. Just then I heard the television turn on in the chemistry class a few feet away from me, blaring the familiar voice of Katie Couric. I peeked my head in the room to see a picture on the television that I would see hundreds of times again. The World Trade Center in New York City was crumbling to the ground.
For the entire day of Sept. 11, 2001, the televisions taught the classes at my high school. Living in St. Louis, the east coast was not just in a different time zone, it was a whole different world. Few people at my school knew anyone that was affected by the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. So we watched, read, listened and tried to relate to the thousands of Americans whose lives were drastically changed that day.
All around St. Louis American flags went up, reminders that our nation was attacked. But two years later, none of it seems real. I've never been to the site of the Twin Towers and I've never met anyone who suffered the loss of a loved one. But now as a student in D.C., I have no choice but to face the reality of it all. I may not have a personal connection to the tragedy, but I now have a real connection to this city.
