Burned into my memory: "A plane just hit the World Trade Center"

I had been at work (at a bookstore) when one of my co-workers told me the news.

For a long time after that day, I was terrified every time I heard or saw a plane fly overhead. I lived near an airport at the time, and what had once been an everyday sound now sent me into a panic.

I am a highly empathic person, and being acutely aware of the emotional state of literally everyone around me, I often became completely overwhelmed in the months following.

I was like many who couldn't turn off the television or stop watching. Since then, I've pretty much stopped paying attention to the news altogether.

(From the information notecard I added to this installation)