New York City, you heard what happened, but look how it hasn't affected you. You're a true hero and I'll tell you why.

The incident: An explosion in Chelsea injured many on a Saturday night. The blast had come from an explosive device planted near a dumpster. Shortly after the incident, another suspicious device was found four blocks away: a pressure cooker covered with dark wiring.

These were the facts. This incident caught everyone off guard. We knew the facts, but there were still so many unanswered questions: Was it intentional? Why Chelsea? Why on a Saturday night in early September?

I remember getting the Amber alert. It was a moment of shock. In fact, I didn't know how to act in this situation. I remember not having my phone on me and checking it an hour later to see 8 missed phone calls, text messages, and Facebook messages. It's not a good notification when the context is: are you home? are you okay? where are you? It's Saturday night. Are you in Chelsea? Reply. Please.

I was okay. We all were. Yes, the event caught us off guard, but let me tell you what it didn't do. It didn't cause us to stop our daily routine. We were startled, yes, but we weren't defeated. There are so many articles out right now explaining how New Yorkers are more afraid of a rat in the subway than an explosion that is meant to evoke fear. The rat doesn't stop our daily commute and neither will this.

They wanted us to fear for our lives, but we didn't. Instead, we were too busy marveling in the diversity of our people and loving the city we call home. Whatever the intention was/is/will be, just know this:

New York City isn't a city that can be defeated. We are too busy embracing our diversity to be scared. We are always on the go, so changing our daily routine is not an option. We're stronger because we stand together. We don't fight fire with fire. You can call it what you want: I call this city its own superhero.

We are here to help improve our world. To the statistics that are trying to overpower us, remember how love beat all odds? Remember how loved this city is? If not, at least remember this: New York City and its people are stronger than you think, and we're not going anywhere anytime soon.