I sat quietly typing away in the computer lab at the University of Central Florida. I was a sophomore in college. The room was filled with students carrying books, papers, backpacks and many of them waiting for an open computer seat. Just like a typical Tuesday morning with students sorting into the room carrying their morning fix of coffee, while organizing their homework and meeting with study partners. The chatter in the room was at a polite level with muffled voices and loud laughs now and then (yes, even that early in the morning, which at times I would glare at the direction of the laughs to give them a hint). You could here the clicking of all the computers being used with the keyboard keys creating a synchronized sound, click, click, space, click, space, ever realized that the space bar sounds different than the other keys? Anyways, there I was wearing an oversized burgundy American Eagle hoodie with slouchy khaki cargo pants and sat cross-legged on the stiff cold chair thinking about what I should have for breakfast (because I always think of food). I craved Chic Fil-A biscuits with scrambled eggs with a side of orange juice. My mouth watered just thinking about the taste the flaky buttered biscuit when all the sudden all my thoughts were shattered and interrupted by a young man who had burst into the doorway. His backpack was half way unzipped with folders and papers falling out of it, he obviously quickly grabbed his stuff from wherever he was. His face was red and twisted and little beads of sweat were forming at the top part of his forehead. Panting and out of breath in a panick he started to shout those words I will never ever forget.
WE HAVE BEEN ATTACKED BY TERRORISTS.
Perplexed I continued typing and turned an ear to hear what he was saying. My typing slowed and as curious as everyone else was to hear what he was saying, simultaneously students began to gather their stuff. He shouted again: WE HAVE BEEN ATTACKED BY TERRORISTS THE NEWS IS ON IN THE STUDENT UNION. Faster now students packed their belongings and quickly followed the pack to the student union. Groups of students, faculty trickled in through different doors, hallways, entrances to see the news. The crowd grew larger and larger in the round shaped building. Gathered in the center with the news projecting above us, we stood still. As one.
It sunk in. I stared as I witnessed the horrific tragedy un-fold before me and thought "this isn't happening", "not my New York, not innocent people,".
School was dismissed for the rest of the day. For the remainder of the day and week I would find myself mesmerized by the same video loop and listened to many heroic stories surface in the midst of such tragedy. Weeks later many would say America grew together from this tragedy.
I say we bring back the Pledge of Allegiance (but that's another post)
May God Bless America.
(thoughts and prayers are with families of those who have suffered loss from this tragedy)
