I’ll be honest: as much as I would love to say that I am a full-fledged New Yorker now that I OFFICIALLY live here, this is very far from the truth. Besides the fact that I’ve only lived here for a month, I have learned that real New Yorkers are almost their own unique species of human. I could write an entire article about the ways in which New Yorkers differ from people all over the rest of the world, but one very prominent trait that I have noticed is the fact that true New Yorkers are phased by very little.

Take, for example, the general public’s reaction to the bombings that occurred in Manhattan this past Saturday. All around the country, Americans saw this as a full-fledged sign of terrorism, proof that ISIS was getting closer and closer to taking over the United States. My roommate received a phone call from her dad urging her to avoid going into Manhattan, and my mom was questioning the measures that my school was taking to protect students.

But in New York, the city where the bombing actually occurred, nobody seemed to even acknowledge the fact that anything bad had happened! My school regularly sends out emails whenever there is an incident in the surrounding area, such as a mugging or robbery, but there was absolutely no mention whatsoever of a terrorist attack in the neighboring borough. I do not mean this in any way as a critique of my school’s safety procedures; I have never once felt unsafe on my campus. I am simply pointing out the fact that this terrorist attack barely registered in the minds of native New Yorkers.

So, why is it that this bombing seems to be of little importance to residents of New York? Is it because Ahmad Khan Rahami failed to actually kill any Americans with his attack? Since everyone survived, does this mean that this was an insignificant terror attack? Or do New Yorkers simply have more important things on their minds, such as their favorite bagel shop being closed, or taking the correct subway to work (a recent BuzzFeed article makes this case)?

Just because nobody died from the bombs and the attacker is already in police custody, this is not something that should be taken lightly. I am not trying to criticize my school or New York City; this is my favorite city and my favorite university in the entire world. But, I am trying to wrap my mind around the idea that a terrorist attack can go unmentioned on a nearby campus full of young adults. I am trying to understand why I have heard so much about the fact that reporters incorrectly identified the Manhattan neighborhood where the bombing took place, and barely anything about the dozens of people who were lucky to escape with their lives.

This was a tragic event that fortunately resulted in minimal damages to the United States. But if history has shown us anything, Americans need to be ready to unite and support our country no matter who or what tries to kill our national pride.