If you didn’t hear the news, a man was hit by a Metra train on February 22, and several Mount Carmel students were on that train.  I happened to be one of those.  The experience changed an ordinary day into one that I will remember for a long time.

I woke up expecting it to be just another regular day of school. I followed my usual routine: get up, hop in the shower, brush my teeth, iron my clothes, and get ready to walk to the train station.

Once I got on the train I met a couple of friends.  We found seats and talked for little bit. Once we got to the 115 th Street Station the train stopped and picked up people as usual;  our flag stop (63rd Street) was next.

However, as the train pulled out we heard the brakes go off and felt the train slowing. It was eerily quiet; everyone was  trying to figure out what happened and why the brakes went off.

After a few minutes a conductor entered our car to announce that someone had hit and that we would have to wait for the police to arrive.

We sat there for at least 20-30 minutes. It was confusing and hard to process what had happened. The police finally arrived, and then after another 10 minutes the train resumed its run.  We got dropped off at the 63rd Street Station and walked to school.

Just another regular day.  But not for everyone.