Woman, who claims she was in the Twin Tower during 9/11, says people kept working despite the crash

A woman claims she was in the Twin Towers when the devastating 9/11 attack took place. Nena, a Bronx, New York resident, recently took to TikTok and explained how people kept working even after the planes hit the buildings. @nenahysteria, who was 21 at the time, recalled working on the 84th floor of 2 World Trade Center when the terrorist attack took place. Although Nena lived to tell the tale, 61 of her colleagues were tragically not that lucky. 

But the thing she remembers vividly is seeing everyone continue their chores despite the South Tower being struck, which was the second to be hit and the first to collapse. Reflecting on the disturbing incident that shook America, she said, "We lost 61 co-workers. Most of them were trying to help everybody out, the other half were still trading, because I was a bond broker on the floor." The heartbreaking TikTok video continued, "They were still trading and you know, money sometimes comes first. You know, you're not thinking straight. So they stood and traded and they lost their lives." 

"So we lost 61 people. Majority of their bodies weren't recovered, but we held memorial services for them. And we do every year, every 9/11, and I don't work on a 9/11," she said. She then went on to explain how many people who were either on the brink of death or had a loved one who lost their lives in the terror attack, began viewing money in a very different light. "A lot of us have realized that the folks that did stay behind and trade, it was like, you know, money was great back then, you're thinking it's not gonna affect you," she explained. "It's a building across the street, you know, across the way. It's not gonna affect you, you're chasing that money, chasing that bag, and then your life is over."

That day, Nena herself learned a very important lesson. "So ever since that day, I live my life to feel like money is not happiness," she expressed. "The pay is good, don't get me wrong, but at the end of the day money isn't what makes happiness. It's what you feel inside. If you feel safe, you feel good. I could be making $15 an hour and live a happy life. You know what I mean? So it changed a lot of people's perspective and a lot of them did not return to work and moved on." 

Nena also shared she had to walk for eight hours just so she could inform her family that she was safe after escaping the tower. "I had to walk and I was covered in dust, covered like in this white powder, and I had to walk eight hours from ground zero to Co-op City in the Bronx," she said. "When I got there, no cell phones were working. I had to use my house phone - yes, we did have a house phone then - and try to call everybody that I could to let them know that I was OK. When they heard my voice they just broke down and cried." 

Cover image source: TikTok | @nenahysteria