14 years

14 years ago, on a simple September morning, I got up, got dressed, poured myself a bowl of cereal and took it into the TV room to watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch before heading to school. I was 12 years old. I turned on the TV and was annoyed to find that Sabrina was not there. Instead there was something about New York. It took me a moment to realize, this was not some movie or program that was replacing my show, but breaking news. Something was happening right then, in New York. That is all I said to my mom. "Something is happening in New York." She comes into the room and we watch. We watch smoke and ash billowing out of what used to be two tall towers. We watched until I had to go to school and my mom had to go to work.

It wasn't until I got to school, that I started to realize what had really been going on. I had never heard of the World Trade Center before, and for most of that morning, it was all we could talk about.

Looking back, 9/11 has become a 'Where Were You When?' of my generation. The same way the J.F.K shooting was for our parents, and MLK Jr. was for our grandparents.  Where was I? I was safe at home 3000 miles away in a different country. I was safe while unspeakable tragedy, and unyielding bravery was experienced in my neighbouring country. It wasn't until years later that I truly came to understand what happened. To this day, I am often moved to tears by the stories I hear from people who experienced horror of 9/11. It is my hope that for those who were too young to remember, or were not around yet, we can continue to show them the courage and sacrifice that occurred that September for many years to come.

To those who lived and were lost

Cheers

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