On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in south Louisiana. Absolutely nobody could have prepared the state for what was to come. The Gulf Coast took a huge hit from this catastrophic hurricane. One city in particular, New Orleans, had the most damage as the levees broke and flooded the city. Thousands were stranded and took shelter in the Superdome and the Convention Center.

There are so many things Louisiana learned from Hurricane Katrina. Here are 11 things to remember today, 11 years later:

1. New Orleans' sense of community post-Katrina.

Everyone was helping everyone. It didn't matter what race, social class, or ethnicity you were- if you could give a helping hand, you did.

2. Life "Pre-Katrina".

If you have spent any time in New Orleans post-Katrina, you will often hear about life before Katrina. It is important to hold onto what the city used to be, but not to dwell on it too much. Yes, life before Katrina was pretty wonderful. However, because of the determination of the locals, New Orleans was able to rebuild a life post-Katrina. It will never be the same, but it's better than a world without New Orleans.

3. New Orleans is worth rebuilding.

When it was so easy to give up, the people of New Orleans worked day and night, week after week, and month after month to rebuild the city- there's a reason why. Even now, the people of New Orleans work towards creating an even greater city. New Orleans is a special place. The food is great, the hearts of the locals are full and life is easy. There is absolutely no where in the world like New Orleans.

4. The New Orleans Saints saved the city.

In a time where it was so difficult to look up, the New Orleans Saints brought hope back to the broken city. Besides physically and financially helping the city at all costs, the Saints brought something special to the city that nobody else could. I still get chills thinking about the Saints vs, Atlanta game that took place in the Superdome on September 25, 2006. The New Orleans Saints beat their rivals, the Atlanta Falcons, bringing hope to the city. Just a few years later, Drew Brees would lead the team to their first-ever Superbowl win. A city that some people thought wasn't "worthy" of rebuilding went on to claim the NFL Championship title in 2010.

5. Material possessions are obsolete.

Everything can be replaced- people can't. Material things mean nothing when the very lives of people you love are threatened. So many people died during Katrina. It is important to cherish your loved ones and realize that they're all you need.

6. The levee system is not perfect.

New Orleans' levees had never faced a storm like Katrina before. The levee system failure is what truly caused the damage during Katrina. There is always room to improve and New Orleans has definitely learned that from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

7. Learn from your mistakes.

In light of a natural disaster, it is easy to make mistakes. New Orleans made plenty of them and have definitely learned from them. Yes, maybe every natural disaster since is blown out of proportion. However, it is always better to be safe than sorry. Listen to your government officials and treat every threat of natural disaster seriously.

8. Natural disasters do not discriminate.

Hurricane Katrina affected everyone in New Orleans- young, old, rich, poor, white, black, Hispanic, Asian- everyone.

9. There is still so much work left to do.

Something that I would love to see happen in the near future is a major decrease in crime in New Orleans. Crime skyrocketed during and post-Hurricane Katrina. Besides that, there are still homes and schools that never recovered from Katrina.

10. Whether or not you lived through Katrina, you were affected by this storm someway somehow.

Whether you stayed behind, had family who lost their homes, or evacuated and were lucky enough to come home to an intact house, Hurricane Katrina changed your life. It changed the way your city prepared for every single natural disaster to come. It changed the way you viewed life. It changed the way you thought.

11. Nothing is impossible.

People said we would never be able to do it. They said we shouldn't even try. "There is no way New Orleans can recover from this". Yet, we did.

"You can live in any city in America, but New Orleans is the only city that lives in you." -Chris Rose