From sea to shining sea

I've probably already blogged about my own September 11 experience before, but I think about it every year on the anniversary, so before delving into what you really want to read - Bachelor Pad Recap! - please indulge me for a minute.

It was my first day of grad school in Boston. Ironically, I had just been in NYC the weekend before for the US Open, and I remember seeing the skyline of the city and being so enthralled. But back to Boston. For some reason I woke up an hour early, so after working out and getting ready for class I was listening to the radio, and that's when I heard about the first plane. It was believed to be an accident at that point, but I was curious and turned on the TV just in time to see the second plane hit. One roommate had already gone to work, but I got the other one out of the bathroom and said, "you need to come see this."

We sat watching in shock/horror for a while, and then didn't know what else to do, so I went to class. Of course, that's all anyone on the bus/subway was talking about - rumors running rampant that there was a fifth plane, etc. Since two of the planes left from Boston, the city was being evacuated by the time I got downtown, so of course there was no school. So I turned around and came home. All public transportation was free, and I remember seeing a sign in the window of a Gap that said "Closed due to attack on America." I think that's when I knew things would never be the same.

That semester was an interesting time to be a journalism student - every single story we did was about the attacks. Or anthrax. Or the firefighters. It was draining, to be sure - but I will certainly never forget.

xo, USA.