Horror. Shock. Fear. Anger. Disbelief. Sept 11th shook the world with terror as four planes came crashing into America, killing so many innocent people during their everyday lives.

Nothing would be the same.

“I was very angry and fearful, because I did not know how far they would go and was very afraid,” said junior Daniel Worrall.

Schools and colleges everywhere shut down to watch the news. Confusion and panic spread through America like an infectious disease as we tried to piece together what was happening; no one, not even our leaders, knew what was going on.

First-year Eric Housaman said “I heard about the attacks from a friend. I was shocked and unsure of what was going on until we turned on the news.”

Frustration hovered in the air as the day progressed.

“Everyone wanted vengeance,” said first-year William Gellatly, “but no one knew what to do.”

Millions of people proudly displayed American flags in the wake of the tragedy; patriotism rose as America began to fight back with bombs.

“America’s reaction to Sept. 11 was a good show of patriotism, but it turned too violent,” said first-year Nathan Houghton.

Here at Guilford peace and tolerance are taught and valued; last year on the 11th there were candlelight vigils in Bryan Jr. Auditorium, and Frank Science Center held all-day seminars about cultural differences.

“Not every Arab is going to kill Americans, and Guilford did a good job discussing how the other side was feeling,” Worrall said.

The hardest part of the aftermath of Sept. 11 is coping with the fear of another attack.

First-year Eamon Barker said, “The attacks of September 11 were horrible, but if we as Americans let those attacks change the way we live from day to day, we’re letting those terrorists walk all over us. If we live our lives in fear, we let them win.”

Sept 11 has taught us our strength. The terrorists invaded our everyday lives, but as sophomore Ben Rothenberg said, “we fought back and showed the terrorists a lesson: we won’t give up.”