I had it all. An extensive family, a large group of mates, and a well-paid job at an ad agency…all before I left college. And yet, as I was completing my final year in Australia, I knew something wasn’t right. One day at work, it struck me what was wrong. I observed how everyone else at this agency had been here for around 10 years, doing the exact same job they started fresh out of college. In other words, a comfortable existence, but not a dynamic existence. That stagnation petrified me - I saw the next decade flash before my eyes and in a matter of moments it would be gone if I didn’t do something about it. So I finished the degree, packed up my life, and moved to America. Everyone thought I was crazy, and perhaps I was, but I needed to do it for me. The first few years were tough, plagued with nagging doubts of what if I’d been too entitled, too ungrateful for what I left behind in Australia, but the doubts only fueled me further to succeed. Now, over 3 years on, I can definitely say that America feels and IS my home. I’ve built a new group of wonderful friends, but more importantly, I’ve been able to embrace an ethos of constant reinvention that ensures the stagnation, that I had such a visceral reaction to back in Australia, is not possible. Australia created me but America enriches me. — shared by Patrick W.

One particular pivotal moment which is still provokes emotion is 9/11. A reader may ask what has 9/11 got to do with Paris? Well, more than one would realize. The day after 9/11 I had a flight and my usual hotel booked. Nothing would have stopped me from going to Paris.

On the day of 9/11, my daughter ‘phoned me from Amsterdam and said a plane and hit the World Trade Center. I immediately thought of a small plane (it did happen to the Empire State building once). Around fifteen minutes later, she ‘phoned again to say that another plane had hit the second iconic WTC Tower. Everything stopped in my mind. Stunned until reality hit me like a bolt of lightning.

I dashed into the house in time to see the Twin Towers collapse. One thing that dominates that terrible moment: The people, innocent people, looking out of a top floor window. Even now, as I write this description, I have tears in my eyes and the emotion of that moment comes to life.

I flew to Paris on 9/12. A stunned city. I arrived at the hotel I have always stayed at. The Concierge team at reception were shaken, distressed and almost in tears. I knew them all by name. They knew my name. They explained that the hotel had many Americans staying who were stunned, tearful and bewildered.

My mission was to go to the American Embassy and ask if there was a book for heart and soul comments. There I wrote the first lines of true support and togetherness.

Paris has so many links with America. The Statue of Liberty was a monument presented by the French people to the people of the United States of America. The iconic torch, created during the making of the Statue of Liberty, is still to be seen on one of the road bridges in Paris demonstrating the friendship between the people of France and America. 9/11 brought people together, to stand shoulder to shoulder.

There is a feeling of intense empathy with New Yorkers, the American people. Witnessing the reality of what happened and the sincere camaraderie that was evident at the hotel stays with me, and will do so forever. Having actually stood at the very top of one of the WTC towers, this brought home the true dimension of this calamity.

The Divine Breadcrumb: The personal awareness and feeling of sorrow and sadness for America and the synergy experienced in Paris, where I flew to the day after 9/11. I can still sense the almost vacuum in the hotel lobby but also the genuine friendliness, sorrow and feeling of unity that ensured we all got on with our lives. — shared by Simon L.

I remember the very moment that changed my life forever. It was at a Phi Sigma Delta Saturday night dance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in late 1958. Our fraternity’s sponsor was Dr. Joseph R. Dillinger, a world-renowned physics professor. I, a EE student, was in the first semester of my junior year and extremely unhappy. I was doing well (3.79 GP) but hated my courses, even though I had a great background in electronics and science. Joe convinced me to transfer to the College of L&S and major in physics, which I did in the middle of my junior year. In the process, I lost 29 college credits (all of my EE courses). To make up those credits and still graduate in 4 years, I was forced to take stuff like English (ouch!) and geology. That’s where I met a grad student named Martin Halpern. Marty (now Dr. Halpern) was my Geology 1a lab instructor. We hit it off immediately, which led Marty to ask if I would be interested in helping him in Antarctica during the austral summer of 1961-62. “Are you kidding?!” I responded. I completed my BS and MS in physics, and off we went.

When I returned, I went to the registrar and signed up for work on my PhD in geophysics. Once completed, I served in the Army for 2 years, then began a career in defense, homeland security, and anti-terrorism. And those courses in English I was required to take? Well, I went on to become a proposal manager and technical writer, eventually contributing to $40 billion in successful bids during my last 6 years as a consultant to a major Fortune 300 defense contractor. As well, since 2009, I’ve published more than 20 novels, short-story anthologies, and books of flash fiction. Not bad for a guy who avoided English like the plague in high school and was not above using Classic Comics as his sources when required to do book reports. And to think it all began with an innocent conversation over a beer at a fraternity party 60 years ago. — shared by Theodore C.

I have been on a healing path since 1985. I moved from Denver, CO in 1984 to Reno. What are several of the highest stress factors? A physical move, death of a parent, getting married or remarried. Well, from the decision to move in 1984 to Reno, the decision to remarry which brought my daughters stepfather into our lifes, to the death of my father in 1985 I unknowingly created the top three stress factors in my life. I had some physical problems in November of 1985 which led to a diagnose of MS, which I had never heard of. My thought as the doctor told me to go home and "do not do anything weird" was if you cut your finger your body heals the cut. I decided to learn yoga, which led to meditation then eventually to Essential Oil. I am now an Intuitive Coach, Artist, Wordsmith. I use art, Essential Oils, visualization and meditation that I have learned to help others. I am not through healing yet. In 2015 a series of treated bladder infections went septic. While healing from the bladder infection I somehow ended up with a spinal infection which destroyed lumbar four and lumbar 5. I am in a wheelchair and slowly learning to walk again. — shared by Margot M.

Many years ago I was working for Monotype Imaging in the UK. During my time there I was placed on a project with a US counterpart called Heidi. We talked at length about the project, then about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, then anything and everything. Eventually I was taken off the project (probably because of transatlantic phone bills) and shortly afterwards I left the company, but I still thought often about that kindred soul. Years passed without us talking. My 10 year relationship was ending and I posted about it on Facebook (a site I almost never use). I was broken, low, hopeless...that’s when Heidi reconnected with me. She consoled me and then bravely confessed that she had feelings for me. I reciprocated in kind and we started talking for hours a day as we attempted to date with an ocean between us. Suffice it to say, the distance between us was too great. It was unbearable trying to date someone you couldn’t hold in your arms or kiss goodnight. So, I married her! We now have a son together and have been happily married since 2014. — shared by William H.