I was sixteen years old, sleeping in bed early in the morning when my dad came into my room and shook me awake and told me to come out to the living room to see the news. At that point the only thing that had happened was the first plane hitting the first tower. I think he knew that this was a historical event of some sort by no one really knew just yet what was happening. Once the second plane hit (I remember vividly watching it live), I remember feeling such sadness because at that point it was clear this was an attack and I truly thought it was the beginning of WWIII. Watching the towers fall is still a memory that will stick with me for the rest of my life. As an American, it was truly surreal and painful to see my homeland under attack.
My mother decided to drive us to school so we could see as much coverage of the tragedy as we could (as this was a significant moment in American history) and I can clearly remember sticking my head out the window of the car and looking up and seeing planes scrambled around in the air as they were trying to land ASAP at YVR (I lived in North Surrey at the time). It was a world changing moment that is truly hard to grasp if you weren't alive to experience it (or remember).