Shock. Disorientation. Anguish. Heartache. These words are only a few to describe the flood of emotions that America felt 10 years ago September 11. The sun was shining on the clear autumn day in New York City, until suddenly a cloud appeared that would prove to change the nation forever.

This billowing cloud of smoke arose at 8:46 a.m. when a commercial passenger jet airliner was hijacked by terrorists and crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City. The terror continued as yet another passenger jet hit the twin towers; a third ran into the Pentagon; and a fourth was crashed into a field in Shanksville, Penn. after passengers overtook the hijackers to prevent an attack on the White House.

The country was devastated. Nearly 3,000 were killed, and none were rescued from the site of Ground Zero. Underground fires at Ground Zero burned for 69 days, but the fire in the heart of the United States has been burning for the past decade. Even though the current high school generation was young at the time of attacks, there is no doubt the generation was affected.

From the war in Afghanistan to the conspiracy theories that are still argued over today, it is clear that the events that took place in 2001 still play a major role in American life. Annually, countless commemoration ceremonies are held in loving memory of those who were lost. The country’s hearts will always go out to the victims of the attacks and the brave personnel, such as policemen and firemen, who worked tirelessly to save them. Ten years have passed, but the tragedy of 9/11 will never be forgotten by the citizens of the United States.

“It’s part of the fabric of our country now,” history teacher, Joseph Laurenzo said. “We are reminded that we need to be united as one people.”

At the time, Laurenzo was working at Shawnee Mission Northwest. When he first learned what happened, he believed it was an accident. However, once the second plane struck, Laurenzo understood that it was no accident. The sadness and shock caused by the first crash turned to anger.

“Initially, we didn’t know it was terrorism,” Laurenzo said. “It just seemed like a sad natural event.”

Ninth grade English teacher Tim Williams agrees with Laurenzo. Williams had been supervising the hallway outside his classroom when another teacher informed him of what had taken place on the East Coast. To him, the method of attack was the greatest cause of his emotion.

“It was a hijacking, kidnapping, murder-type situation,” Williams said.

The teachers remember the reaction of many of their students as being similar to their own: shock, solemnity, anger and silence.

“Anytime something earth-shattering happens, it quiets you,” Latin and world literature teacher James Leek said.

Principal Joe Gilhaus, who was then in his first few weeks as principal of Shawnee Mission South, noticed a clear change in atmosphere in the school that day.

“There was a calmness, a quietness, an eerie noise level in the hallway,” he said.

Gilhaus made an announcement over the intercom to the whole school once he felt that enough legitimate information had been gathered. He also permitted the teachers to show news coverage of the events in their classrooms.

“I knew that a normal day was not going to take place,” Gilhaus said.

Both Laurenzo and Williams, as well as several other teachers in the school, allowed their students to watch news coverage of the events during class. Dr. Leek, however, felt the need to keep the school day as calm as possible by keeping a routine in place for the younger children. At Oxford Park Academy, where he was headmaster, younger students were present.

“You don’t want them thinking that they’re in danger,” Leek said, “or that they’re next.”

Laurenzo also believes that young people, such as the students at Shawnee Mission South, were just as affected by the terrorism as adults were.

“It is overwhelming,” he said, “no matter how old you are, to watch something tragic unfold.”

Sophomore Chase Allison believes that while he didn’t completely understand the true devastation of the events, he began to come to terms with what had happened in the years to follow.

“When you’re young,” Allison said, “you don’t think these things are real. You think they’re something from a movie.”

Senior Abigail Slovick shares Allison’s point of view.

“It’s hard for kids to grasp what happened,” Slovick said.

As the years continue to pass, teenagers remember less and less of what 9/11 really was. The terror of the situation has even lessened in the minds of adults. However, each year as the month of September passes, America is reminded of the strange sense of unity that was brought upon the country by the attacks.

“When your household is attacked,” Leek said, “no matter how well you get along with your brother, you will be on the same team. For a while at least.”

Leek was most definitely not the only individual to feel that the terrorism of September 11 had a strange way of uniting the country. Laurenzo said that after the attacks, there was a kind of expectation that citizens would watch out for each other.

“We felt connected,” he said, “although sad and confused.”

While America may have felt connected, the United States also felt the need to protect the country from its enemies in the world. In Laurenzo’s words, America became much more “vigilant.” From changes in airport security, to the war in Iraq, there is no doubt that 9/11 caused a significant change in America’s lifestyle.

“[It made me ask myself] how do we get along from a world-centric point-of-view?” Allison said.

Laurenzo feels that America was so shaken because we hadn’t experienced that kind of terrorism since the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

“It was a lost innocence in a sense,” he said.

Because the country was so surprised by the events, many began to look for someone to blame. It is true that Al Queda, based in the Middle East, was the leader of the attacks, but Leek believes that America shouldn’t associate the terrorism with that entire region.

“It’s easy to blame a religion or a country,” Leek said. “But the best thing to do is just to live sane lives.”

While children will now grow up without having experienced the terrorist attacks first-hand, and as adults begin to lose sight of the true emotions that were associated with that frightful September day, 9/11 will never be forgotten.

“Our human nature is that we forget the bad things,” Williams said. For the moment however, the tragedies of 9/11 are still fresh in America’s national identity.

In fact, this year on September 11, two fountains were placed at Ground Zero to remember all the lives that were lost.

“The memorial is a way of closure for the families who lost someone,” Kroh said.  “This is going to be their grave site. This is going to be where they rest forever.”

By Olivia Feathers