I was in 7th grade at the time, in science class when the attacks, unbeknownst to me at the time, happened. Two periods later, while I was on my way to my locker, one of the students who used to play a lot of pranks on me walked up to me and said, "Mike, the World Trade Center is on fire!" Considering his history, I thought he was kidding, and forgot about it. I went to my locker and then to reading class (at the middle school English is divided into language arts and reading), where I saw the TV on. These tragic events were being covered. I realized that the guy was not kidding me this time (for the record, he hasn't played any pranks on me since then), and felt an overwhelming sense of grief and guilt. I believed that there was something I could have done to prevent it, even though I knew that there wasn't.
It just occured to me that all of the patriotism generated by the events is almost nonexistent now. It saddens me that people are beginning to take their country for granted like they did before. I seriously hope tomorrow will revoke memories of this tragic day and make people realize that freedom is not to be taken for granted.
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