5 years ago today i was in London. That afternoon I was in a Starbucks reading by a window overlooking Tottenham Court Rd. About 4pm i started to notice agitated people hurriedly hopping on crammed buses. I thought it was rush hour hitting early and didn’t think much of it. I ambled across the road to the internet cafe where news of the attacks on New York was the lead story on every website i looked at. My one friend in New York had thankfully already emailed to say crazy shit was happening but she was ok.

I called my sister (who was also in London) and arranged to meet up. We spent the evening in the pub amongst dozens of others in dumbstruck silence, glued to BBC World news. The next morning i awoke after spending most of the night watching the news in a daze of incomprehension about what happened. It’s still incomprehensible. I’m sure everyone remembers where they were when those events unfolded.

Apart from my home of Sydney, New York is my favourite city in the world. I’ve been there twice, pre September 11 and again last year. Apart from my visits i feel like i know it through the endless movies, music and other pop culture i’ve consumed in my life.

The city gives me hope for the future. It’s a metropolis of people, from all walks of life, rich and poor and every culture and religion under the sun. And it works. Not perfectly, but in a way that makes me think that throwing together all those people in one place can be harmonious. Which is why it still breaks my heart that it was attacked. To me, New York still stands tall as our great hope for a peaceful future.