Chantae Ahamefule was born in Jersey City, N.J., and witnessed the terrorist attacks from the window of his homeroom, just across the Hudson River from New York City.

Ahamefule, who adopted the nickname "Manny" at a young age, was in seventh grade when terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

What do you remember about the exact moment of the attack?

Ahamefule: "It was like an action movie they were screening. When it happened no one knew if it was real or not. Our teacher had a TV in the room. We turned it on and saw that it wasn't fake and then the teacher told us to get away from the window.

"We didn't see the first plane hit, we just saw the smoke. I remember it was around 9:15 in the morning. The first tower went down [and] we felt the impact from the window. It felt like an earthquake and the windows were rumbling. I wasn't aware, but later on the second plane hit. I was still in school waiting for my aunt to pick me up."

What was your immediate reaction?

Ahamefule: "I basically rolled out to the river on my own. Riding my bike to the waterfront, I noticed you couldn't see into the city. Smoke and debris covered the skyline. I noticed ferries carrying injured people. I knew they were injured because I could see blood, bloody heads and bruises. They were bringing them into my city. The hospitals were filling up fast. They used the gymnasium of what would be my future high school to put injured people. At the waterfront, I noticed ambulances and fire trucks from all of the other counties.

"I was pretty scared, I didn't realize my aunt was working at one of the buildings [in the World Trade Center], but she wasn't there that day. School was out for a couple of weeks and there were a lot of jets in the sky and noise from sirens. We had the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty and living in the city you live around a lot of tall buildings, so all the jets made me nervous."

How did witnessing the attacks make you feel?

"It made me think differently about ever wanting to fly in a plane and nervous about planes flying over my city. Now that I've flown in more planes I've realized that's something that only happens once in a lifetime.

"It was sad knowing so many people that lost loved ones. I had a few close friends who lost loved ones. There was a memorial set up for the rest of the month. There were two big lights set up at the site shining into the middle of the sky, like a scene from Batman."

What lasting impact did the attacks have on you?

"It's something I will always remember the rest of my life. It was tragic. I actually saw history take place in front of my eyes.

"I never got to see the view from the top of the Twin Towers, but I did get to the top of the Empire State Building. Just knowing the Twin Towers were even taller is scary to think about."