StoryCorps: The Voices of 9/11

[From StoryCorps' 9/11 Animated Shorts Series, She Was the One]

Groggy from cold medicine and cloaked in a Cal sweatshirt, I woke up the morning of 9/11/2001 to my phone ringing. (A real cordless phone, because I didn't even have a cell phone yet.) It was my first month in the dorms, and I was still getting used to being on my own and learning about the world around me. I had just met my roommate, who became a lifelong friend, and I didn't even know the boy. He was probably sleeping in a dorm room a half mile away.

"Hello?" I said with my eyes still closed.
"Are you up?" It was my sister.
"No, we're both sick, we were sleeping. Why are you calling so early? What's wrong?"
"Go find a common room with a TV. Is there one on your floor? Go watch the TV."

With my sister still on the phone, I shuffled out of bed and to our dorm's common room, where I found a group of people already glued to watching the news. The rest is a little foggy to me.

She Was the One brought tears to my eyes and makes me want to hold onto the boy and never let go.

Take care of your loved ones and community, blog world.

With love,