where were you?

it is one question that everyone has the answer to.

"Where were you when you first heard about the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001? "

third period of the day during my junior year of high school was always interesting, to say the least. the class was chemistry, taught by a guy named greg garzon. mr. garzon personified the word "character." he wasn't your stereotypical chem teacher, one who would scurry about in a long white jacket with goggles seemingly glued to his/her eyes. but garzon did know how to befuddle his students and at times, get a little rise out of them.

seriously though, greg garzon is another blog posting.

nonetheless, that tuesday, neither the lecture nor garzon could snag my attention. when i attended class in high school, my attention-span would rarely if ever follow long, much less stay for the entire period. certainly i was no stranger to daydream-land.

but i pulled a u-turn out of there when sister joyce spoke over the loudspeaker (i went to a catholic, co-ed high school). sister announced to the school that a plane had hit the world trade center. details were still unknown, but to please keep those who have been injured and killed, as well as their families and loved ones, in our prayers. the school then recited a hail mary.

by the time i reached fifth period, the second plane had collided with the other major tower of the wtc. coincidently enough, it was history class. our teacher, mrs. bryk, allowed us to watch cbs for updates.

i'll never forget the first time i witnessed footage of that second plane hitting. the entire scene looked surreal - straight out of a dramatic film. if only that was the case.

all of the specifics unfolded within' the next 24 hours - the two other sites where planes crashed, the hijackings, the terrorism-connection, the intention to hit the white house.

president bush gave, in my opinion, one of his most important and influential speeches of his term that night on national television. his reassurance that america would flourish, and seek out those responsible, struck a cord with all of us - who were so desperately searching for answers.

as i watched peter jennings so eloquently deliver one of his finest newscasts (read: day-long shift) as a broadcaster, i channeled my fear, anger, anxiety, and hope through my most familiar channel.

i can officially say that it was the events on september 11th that led me to pursue an interest in creative and digital video editing. my first two videos were produced within 48 hours of the attacks. about a year later, i worked on a piece that to this day, brings about goosebumps.