I saw it live on TV when I was 17, in the southern US. I'd never been to NYC before or anywhere near it. The way events were unfolding, and then the cut to the

I saw it live on TV when I was 17, in the southern US. I'd never been to NYC before or anywhere near it. The way events were unfolding, and then the cut to the Pentagon on fire, I genuinely thought the entire country might be under attack, maybe even my own city eventually. I was excited to watch this again, mostly because I had zero understandng of the world at that time. It was interesting to see the reactions of the anchors with my older eyes, seeing them display genuine empathy and shock at what they were seeing. I remember whichever channel I was watching at the time, the anchor continued to question exactly what was going on, but with this site I was able to see other anchors! After the second plane hit, the one I wasn't watching live said it was an obvious terrorist attack, which is a shock to me. I kinda assumed everyone was as confused as I was. Another shock: I got to feel again the genuine fear I felt then. In all the years that have passed and my anger at all the adults in my life for becoming bloodthirsty and cheering on Bush and the Iraq war, 9/11 had morphed into a vague meme. A symbol of so many of the terrible things I'd eventually learn about the US government. I'd forgotten just how scary everything was on that particular day.