It has been 15 years since 9/11 happened, unquestionably the most significant event for our generation. One question can reliably transport our minds back to that dreadful Tuesday morning: Where were you when you first heard about the planes crashing into the World Trade Center?

Most of the answers will forever evoke recollections of unimaginable tragedy, of lives brutally cut short, and of unspeakable horror and sorrow in the hearts and minds of many of us.

It should not be forgotten that 9/11 began as a beautiful blue-sky day and ended like a real-life horror movie. Whatever our politics and religion, the attacks not only hit New York, hit us all. People of more than 80 countries died that day. Years will go by and it will never make any sense.

There is one thing I remember the most of 9/11. The city transformed into something never seen before: sections of the city were evacuated and military presence on street corners became normal. The day after the attacks, while riding the subway on my way to work, the smell of smoke and ash hung in the air, and people walked around shocked, but New Yorkers went out and in the midst of the tragedy, rose to the occasion and continued with their life.

The difficulties and struggles are in a way what makes New York great. It takes a certain frame of mind and attitude to push through adversity and rise above it. You can’t be a wuss and live here. We have all worked hard to get to where we are, and we don’t mind putting in overtime to reach our dreams. That is what it means to be a New Yorker.

There is a reason why people choose to live in shoebox apartments and pay crazy-high rent all for the opportunity to live in this incredible city. The skyline will never be the same, but you can absolutely believe it: New York City is the greatest city in the world.