DAVID BLUMENFELD Atlanta Ballet BIO | POSTS

I woke up this morning thinking of that morning 6 years ago. I looked at my clock, and saw that it was 8:30 am. I was just waking up at that time, slowly making my way from the SAB dorms to the lower level cafeteria with my friend Andrew on that day. We got out on the 11th floor, making our way to another set of elevators facing a row of large windows showcasing a view of Lincoln Center and the downtown skyline. In the distance, one of the World Trade Center Towers was sending smoke into the air.

The next few hours were filled with confusion, disbelief, and even terror. It seemed to take everyone such a long time to understand what had happened. People began to realize that we had been attacked. My cell phone wouldn’t work. I couldn’t get in touch with my family. Students were being clumsily herded together. We had never had to deal with such an emergency before. We found out that we could not remain at Lincoln Center until further notice, and I remember dormitory staff members dividing students into groups to stay at the homes of teachers and other local students.

I stayed close by my group of friends, not wanting to be separated. We all ended up spending the day together, not really knowing what to do at first. We got cash out of the ATM, and bought necessities like toothbrushes and toothpaste, since we were forced to leave our dorms so quickly. As we walked uptown to our friend Zoe’s apartment, emergency vehicles rushed downtown on one-way streets, against masses of people trekking in the opposite direction on foot. It was chaotic. We went to Riverside Park in order to escape. It felt strange. Air Force jets raced over the city, as we restlessly sat in the grass and individually made attempts to get in touch with worried family members. The jets continued to noisily fly over the city while we were glued to the television for those long hours after the attacks, and did not stop all night.

We watched “Mary Poppins” to take our minds off of things. It never really felt the same in the city after that, and each year, on this day, I am reminded of my experience in New York City with my friends. My family. I will never forget.