Two years ago, when the dust settled around me and I looked up to see the Chitauri falling across the city, when I realized that it was finally over and we'd stopped the invasion, I remember thinking that my life would never be the same. And that's been true, ever since. None of our lives were ever the same after that. Not mine, nor the lives any of the other Avengers present that day, or those of the first responders, any of the other citizens of Manhattan, or this great city, or this country. No matter how much anyone might have tried to deny it, our lives changed that day. That day, we began to understand that there were greater forces in the universe than we ever knew, and that day, we were reminded what we were truly made of.
The people who fought beside me that day have become friends, and our city proved that we would not bend over and submit. At the end of the day, we brushed off the dust and we stood up. We rebuilt our city. We're stronger now, and that - that's because we stood together. Not one of us could have stopped the invasion on our own, and not one of us could have rebuilt on our own.
Two years ago, I was reminded of a powerful lesson that I learned many years ago: what we can accomplish
together is far greater than what any of us could do on our own. All of you here remind me of that on a regular basis as well, and believe me when I say that I'm both grateful for what you do, and humbled.
I'm sure there will be bumps along the road from here on out, but I'm
also certain that no matter what comes our way, we will brush ourselves off and we will stand up again.