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person making a heart with their hands at a concert
person making a heart with their hands at a concert
Photo by Anthony DELANOIX from Unsplash
NCSU | Culture

Not Knowing What to Do, Woman Writes Article — A Lesson in Humanity

Paige Lee Student Contributor, North Carolina State University
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at NCSU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

In the wake of 9/11, The Onion (a satirical newspaper company) was faced with a challenge. Typically, The Onion would be making fun of or joking about whatever event was transpiring, but 9/11 was completely unprecedented times.

So, The Onion came up with an idea to write a short article about a woman in Kansas who, not knowing what to do but still wanting to support her country, baked a cake that looked like the American flag, and shared it with her neighbor. In my opinion, this is one of the most important articles to come out during this time period.

Americans, faced with a time of unknowing and a desire to help, decided to help each other. That right there is the most important message we could share in a time like this. Modern technology has given us this amazing ability to somehow be connected to more people than physically possible, but we have managed to be completely alone. We have the entire world at our finger tips, a constant influx of bad and negative news coming in at an overstimulating rate. It’s no wonder why we feel this way.

But, how do we fix it?

Remember that no act is too small or too silly. In the article, all this woman could fathom to do was bake a cake, and it worked! She was able to connect with her neighbor, to extend the olive branch, and to go, “I see you, I’m scared too, and it’ll be okay.” Okay granted, these are made up people, but pretend with me for a second. I guarantee that there were people who did the same thing, whether inspired by the article or not. So, even if you bake a cake, or share a funny meme, or anything that feels too small, know that it’s enough.

Sometimes, I have doubts about humanity. But then I go to a concert, and hear everyone singing to their favorite song with their best friend, or I go to Talley and see 8 people shoved in a booth because they want to be able to sit with each other and that’s the biggest table. I see people bringing food to loved ones who had someone pass away recently. I see kids discovering the world for the first time, watching the butterflies fly near them in the Spring and getting excited. I see my best friends and my family and realize love and humanity are all around us.

We live in scary times. People’s lives are impacted daily, whether it be from unemployment, ICE, or any other thing that effects them. The best thing we can do is be there for each other.

Paige Lee

NCSU '26

Paige Lee is a Psychology and Biology double major at NC State, concentrating in child development. Her passions include public health, child life, and finding ways to make healthcare more compassionate and accessible for families — especially in rural areas, like where she's from.

She’s gained a wide range of experiences, from interning at a hospital to creating marketing strategies for an insurance company and presenting workshops on design thinking. Each experience has helped her grow as both a communicator and advocate. Paige hopes to pursue a career in child life or public health, where she can blend advocacy, science, and empathy to make a meaningful difference

When she’s not studying, you can find Paige reading or at a random concert. She often takes spontaneous day trips to the beach or ropes her friends into random side quests. If you get the chance to talk to her, she'll often mention SNL, her favorite movies, or random facts she learned from class.