September 11th and Mobile Filmmaking
The event that changed America changed my perspective
I went online that morning before I headed out for my Tuesday class in college. I saw a headline that mentioned the world trade center. I was studying Media Communications as my major and it included journalism. My thought, as I realized I needed to get going, ‘Wow, the headlines for wall street trading are getting ridiculous.’
I lived in San Diego and I always left home a little early when I had a class. Looking for a spot to park my car was a frustrating process, circling like a vulture in search of…a car leaving an open parking space. On that morning, there were plenty open spaces.
My class that day was called “History of Media.” It was the first “history” course I enjoyed in my life. It was, for me, part of the foundation of sharing stories.
Walking through the corridor, which was outdoors since the weather is usually nice, I noticed an emptiness on campus.
The quad was to my right, and it was barren. Except there was this one girl, she walked hurriedly in my direction toward the parking lot, behind me. She cried as she talked to someone on her cell phone. Our eyes crossed for one microsecond and I gave her a sympathetic smile.
That was my second encounter to what I would soon realize was a terrible event that would become a cataclysm of American history.
I continued on to my class. The door was wide open. When I stepped into the doorway, the lights were off in the room. There was one light source: a TV tuned into a cable news channel. Adjusting my eyes I saw the students sitting quietly watching the news.
As I went to sit down in my seat, I felt the energy in the room. It was as dark as the room itself. An overwhelming feeling of fear was in the air.
I sat down and I turned to my colleague next to me, ‘What’s going on?’
Tune in as I share my first podcast episode for The Word On Storytelling, where I will share the story about my experience during that awful day on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. My personal experience was a big part of the journey that drove my passion for storytelling and smartphone film and video.
If you’re already subscribed, you’ll receive an email as soon as it’s available.
UPDATE: The episode was published at 9:11AM ET on 9/11/2022. You can find it going to the link above and on the Podcast tab on this webpage. It’s also available in Apple Podcasts, Spotify and others. It’s received an unexpected amount of downloads and I hope you’ll listen. Thank you to all who listened to me share my personal story. It was not easy to tell.