After the attacks of September 11 it was obvious the world was never going to be the same again. The images of the Twin Towers being hit and then collapsing shocked everyone, but how did children feel in the days and weeks that followed?
"When I began to realise how real everything was it made me really upset," said 16-year-old Jenny Roe-Stanton. "I felt terrified in the weeks afterwards."
Martyn Osmond, 13, agreed: "I felt worried afterwards because I wanted to know the truth. But I felt that governments weren't saying enough."
Vicky Palmer, 12, was badly affected by what she watched on TV and saw in the papers. "I couldn't get the picture of the plane crashing into the tower out of my head."
For some young people, the disaster had a deeply personal impact. Halina Rucinska, 15, was worried about her own family who lived in New York. "After a while I found out that my family was all right. But I still felt upset for all the people who died and all those affected by the tragedy," she said.
We won't know for a while how badly people have been psychologically affected in the long term. But some young people are already becoming anxious about the future.
Since September's events Lucas Dillon, 11, has worries about flying: "I suppose the main way that the attacks have affected me is that I think more about the possibilities of hijackings."
Mark Luney, 14, added: "The attack has made me think about life. It's too short and should not be taken for granted. I also realise I need to start thinking on a global scale and not just about what happens to me."
The number of people dead is greater than most people could imagine in one incident. Many more people are now likely to die in the war in Afghanistan. This new conflict has deepened the effect of the World Trade Centre attack on many young people's moods.
"In the weeks after September 11 I felt quite sad," said Chidi Emmanuel Izamoje, 11. "I thought that everything would eventually be alright. But that was before the war started."
Hugo McIlveen, 15, said he's never experienced a time like the past couple of months. And that's coming from someone who's lived through all the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
"In history, I learned about World War II. Many thousands of lives from all nations were lost. This didn't really affect me because it happened many years ago," he said. "But the thought of that same fear and death in the 21 century is something else."
The tone of the response seems to be the same for everyone. Everyone is scared and sad, and they are wondering what will happen next. In time, young people hope that we will be able to live our lives in peace again. Everyone just hopes that not too many people will die, and that we can soon feel safer again.
Whatever happens, though, today's generation of young people will always remember the shocking images of the September 11 tragedy. "I personally will never forget what happened," said Susan Parnell, 11. "The sights and sounds of the buildings collapsing and afterwards the people inside the collapsed towers searching for any trapped people still alive."
About the team
This article was produced by Daniel Cohen and Zak Garner-Purkis, 13. It was published in Young Minds magazine.
