[Orangedog]

I was in 10th grade...I had overslept for school by two hours...again. Woke up to my mother screaming "Get your ass out of bed NOW!" First thing I did was turn on the TV just as the shuttle exploded. All I could do was just sit down and stare at the screen. My mother came in, yelling, as usual, until she saw what was going on. Then she told me not to worry about school that day. That was the first national disaster I saw as it happened.

[Indy Pendance]

My second National disaster was the WTC and 9-11. heart stopped for a minute......

[Petronski]

Odd. Very odd. I happened to be home from school sick the day Reagan was shot.

[Monty22]

I was at school, in the 6th grade. I was in band practice and the school intercom came on 'The space shuttle exploded and all are believed perished'.

In my young mind, I thought he said 'All had parachuted' and I was thinking it was ok.

Later I knew the truth. And I remember my dad being so depressed that day.

It's amazing how Columbia barely affected us this time. 9/11 really changed Americans, for the far worse.

[Henrietta]

I was in tenth grade, too. We found out about it at lunch time, because there were televisions set up in the cafeteria, so that we could watch the news of the disaster. It was horrible to watch, and many students, myself included, cried when we saw what happened.