21 years ago our world changed forever. September 11 was such a pivotal turning point for the world, no matter where you were or what you stood for.

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Almost everyone can tell you where they were when the World Trade Centre came down. It might have been at work or at home, watching it happen on TV.

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I was there.

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I’d only just become an adult and it was my first trip over seas. Really I was still a kid. I was full of hope and dreams of making the better place and I was there together with young people from all around the world talking about what we needed in our communities to help make those dreams of a more fair and equal world a reality.

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We were supposed to be on a trip into downtown New York when the first plane hit, but due to jet lag we were still in the kitchen having breakfast. Sleeping in very likely saved my life.

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With the world watching, no telephone calls in and out and unable to do anything about the terrifying chaos all around me, I went out into New York with older people and younger people from all around this amazing world. We went to Central Park and we talked about our lives. We went to Harlem and we talked about our struggles. We went to the Hudson River and we talked about our hopes and dreams.

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In the 21 years that followed the world started to seem harder than ever before. There were wars and protests and deaths and campaigns that seemed to divide us not unite us. All the progress we had been making on social issues- equality, justice, housing, ending poverty and improving the world for the next generation- seemed to go backwards.

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Even now, it seems like hope is hard to find in amongst the rising petrol prices and the cost of bread and the families that are waiting in motels to get a roof over their head. Things are hard right now and it is hard to see the light in the dark.

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When I think about the times that I have been happiest and the memories I treasure most it is not of my external successes or prizes or my individual achievements or getting a pay rise. It is of dancing in my kitchen, with my friends and my cousins, even when things seem really bad. 

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When I think about the reasons I wanted to go to New York to talk about my hopes and dreams, it is because of the lessons that I learned in the kitchen, handed down to me by my parents and grandparents and aunties and uncles. It wasn’t a politician or a celebrity who gave me my values. It was my Mama.

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When I think about the reasons why I believe that the world can and should be changed for the better, it is because of the music that we listened to while we danced. I am a child of the 80’s and I was raised to believe that we are the world, we are the children. We are the ones to bring a better day so let’s start living. There’s a choice we’re making. And we’re saving our own lives. It’s true you bring a brighter day for you and me.

 

So this year, on the 21st anniversary of the event that led our world into darkness, I want you to join me by getting back to the kitchen and dancing with the people that loves you. Call your cousins, your grandma, your kids and your friends, put on the songs that inspire you and talk about your family values.

This September 11 I want to fill the world with radical optimism, love and hope that we can and will change the world for the better. Let’s start in the kitchen.

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As Whitney Houston said, "I believe that children are the future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Give them a sense of all the beauty that they have inside. Give them a sense of pride to make it easier. Let the Childrens laughter remind us how we used to be."

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On September 12 I will get up and start working to put in place the practical changes that are needed to make the world better. I need to raise some funds to do this and so if you can afford it, could you please support one of the many fundraisers on Start Some Good. 

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If you can’t afford it or don’t have a kitchen right now just dance xx As Whitney also so wisely sang- no matter what they take from me, they can’t take away my dignity and learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.

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So please, this September 11th go and dance in your kitchen with somebody you love and somebody who loved you. Talk about your family values. Talk about the change you want to see in the world.

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And help me Aim High.