It was early in the morning, Sept. 11. My drawing class had just started and we had all gathered in the cafeteria at my college to do some life drawings. We (my classmates) had all found our spots and subjects when my professor came running over and gathered us all around him.

He stated that something awful had happened and just as no one of his generation will forget where they were when JFK was shot, we will never forget what he was about to tell us. Someone had attacked NYC and flew a plane into the WTC.

We were all in shock. I sat and listened with my mouth open, as the rest of my classmates did. We were in disbelief! The first thought that crossed my mind was, “Is this WWIII?”.

What I will never forget about that day is not what had happened in NYC, but what was happening all around me… as a young college student, in London, Ontario, Canada. I remember walking down the hallway, past the college computer store, which was normally empty, and seeing an enormous amount of people crammed outside, desperately trying to get a glimpse of the monitors and TV’s that were tuned into CNN.

I remember walking past them and seeing hordes of students crowded underneath the intercom speakers attached to the ceiling that were now broadcasting a live news station covering the event. Every person I passed, every class I entered, every conversation around my college, my city, my home, my country, was about what happened.

Most of all, what I will always remember about 9-11 is that I saw the human race, regardless of culture, and country, come together and pray and sacrifice their own time and money to help those from NYC, USA. It is shocking to see the heinous things that a terrorist/murderer can do, but it was awe-inspiring to see my world love each other and feel for each other and sacrifice for each other and show true compassion for each other.

I will never forget who was lost in NYC, I will never forget what happened, or the images I saw on CNN… but most of all, I will never forget how the human race held so much more power than the handful of terrorists that got on those planes. In the aftermath of 9-11, we proved ourselves. We won.