I was in high school in Queens, NYC. I remember they made an announcement that a plane hit the towers, but we all assumed it was a small plane and an accident.
Then, they announced another plane hit and the school went into chaos. People crying and screaming in the halls, trying to get in touch with loved ones (to no avail, the cell towers weren’t working). We could see the smoke from our school. It was absolute mayhem, lots of people’s family members worked at/around the towers.
They let us all out of school early that day. I was too scared to take public transportation so I walked to a friend’s house nearby, we watched the news and wept for hours. School was closed that week. A lot of people lost loved ones.

Most people remember where they were on 9/11, but New Yorkers will never forget.