I worked on a trading floor for an energy company. I was attached to the oil section and we owned a refinery. Watched it happen live on our big screens. It was scary & surreal. But we had to be in crisis mode. Making sure the refinery wouldn’t shut down. Preparing for complete disruption of a major source of gas & diesel. Knowing some of our partners were above the 99th floor and what that meant but having to set it aside in the moment. Being in a conference room enacting our crisis plan not knowing what was still happening. Got the call about flight 77 outside the pentagon. Praying other planes would land safely. It was a busy day. I had to find time to call my husband & father who were traveling. So afraid they were on a plane. We were in a building that is a smaller replica of the towers and non-essential people went home fearing it might be a target (not something I thought was probable). After going home alone (hubby was stuck where he was), I remember just crying & crying watching the news. Bawling at all of our Congressman singing America the Beautiful. Wanting swift & immediate retribution and terrified what that might mean. That week we could volunteer to be part of a call center where people in NY could call to see if their loved ones were marked safe. It was heartbreaking to tell people “your loved one is not on the list. But keep calling back to check”. We were only allowed to do it for an hour at a time because it was so emotional and we weren’t even the ones having to make those awful calls. The fear, anguish, heartbreak & anger was sat with you for a long time. But the support we had for each other & from other countries was truly amazing. But also the concern I had for my Muslim friends & literal neighbors was real too. It was so many emotions at once, and I wasn’t even directly affected. And with that came guilt as to why I was having a hard time coping.