This Thursday marks 13 years since the tragedy that took place on Sept. 11, 2001, and while many families have recovered, Wichita students still remember where they were when it all happened.

“I was in second grade,” junior Drew Johnson said. “I remember waking up to my mom crying and seeing everything on the television. I was so young that I couldn’t really comprehend the true tragedy everything was. You know, there are some things you just don’t forget. Now that I’m older I can see how horrible it actually was.”

Johnson expressed his deepest sentiments when thinking of the families that were ruined because of terrorist attacks. Johnson said he feels bad every time he thinks of it because it can happen again at any time.

Junior Ben Shaw said he was in Hawaii when everything happened, but he said he still feels sadness every time September 11 comes.

“I was about eight years old in Hawaii when my mom woke me up in tears,” Shaw said. “She told me that the towers were hit and that we needed to call our family in the city. I didn’t lose anybody, but I know many people that did. It’s just terrible how people can do such horrible things to the human race.”

Shaw, Johnson and one other student, Amad Ali, were willing to speak on record because of the sensitivity of the subject.

“I was confused, because I didn’t even know what was going on until the teacher told us after we saw footage on television,” Ali said. “It was being shown all day long. It was strange when I got home, being that I’m Arab it was really awkward since my mom was upset but my dad and his Arab friends weren’t at all. I witnessed my mother cry many tears. I was worried because I thought it meant a war was going on in our own country”