i remember exactly where i found out about the planes crashing into the World Trade Center. i had just woken up to get ready for class. my roommate had left two hours before. it was the second week of fall quarter, my first year at depaul.
the phone rang. i wasn't going to answer it, as i needed to get in the shower - but decided to anyway. my mom sounds relatively normal, asking me how things are going, if she woke me up - and then, very nonchalantly, tells me to turn on the tv, as a plane just crashed into the world trade center in new york.
i didn't think much of it - maybe it was one of those "caught on tape!" things - mostly because my mom was so calm. however...that was right as the first tower was falling. it was one of the scariest things i've ever seen. i had no idea what was going on!
still on the phone with my mom, i noticed that scrolling at the bottom of the screen they were announcing that all buildings in downtown Chicago were to be evacuated. that did it for me - i started freaking out.
of course, i still didn't know what was going on - so i told my mom that i needed to go, and get ready for class. i wanted to go to class because maybe we would spend some time discussing what was happening! obviously, though, class was canceled.
shortly afterward, i was