When I was still at A&M I was assigned to write news articles for class on various speeches given on campus. I got to sit in on a speech from our Corps leader, Lt. John Van Alystyne, he described being in the Pentagon that day. It was the two year anniversary (or around) when I listened to him speak and yet the stoic career military man had trouble keeping his emotions at bay. It was powerful, horrifying and emotional to hear him speak of it. The vivid details of the feeling of the flames around the corner, the description of the burning flesh smell and the screams of the injured was the stuff of nightmares to listen to and hard to stomach. I remember crying for much of his speech while taking notes.

I remember thinking I wasn't worthy of telling his story in my assignment and wanting to do it justice. It ended up being one of my best grades in the class and one of the pieces I was extremely proud of for writing.

Growing up my parents talked about where they were when Kennedy was killed or where they were when Charles Whitman opened fire on the UT campus. When the Challenger disaster occured it left an impact on me I still remember even though I was a pre-schooler that day but it doesn't evoke the emotion the photos of those towers can. At first when I watched the news in class I didn't realize it would be my "I remember where I was when...." moment but I can remember the sun sparkling through the oaks of campus, where I was sitting in Reed McDonald, sitting in my first apartment and being late to work because I was watching the news.