“Get up, you have ten minutes to capture a Melbourne moment. Go.”

Surely this must be an easy task for a born and bred Melburnian. But as soon as everyone descended to the ground floor, I was honestly too caught up in the weather and lazy to even go through the flight stairs again. Yes I know there were the lifts but as I said, I was too caught up in the infamous Melbourne weather.

I realised that being in such a thriving metropolis, I don’t give myself enough time to appreciate such Melburnian moments. Whether it’s getting lost in a novel while lying down on a patch grass in front of the State Library, appreciating the quality of coffee we’re lucky to be sipping and whiffing on, being alerted by the sound of incoming trams or taking in the sights of graffiti coming to life.

Anyway, I figured that the eleventh floor was closer to our current tenth floor. I made my way up and awkwardly tried to find a balcony with a decent view. No luck. I suddenly found myself in and out of classroom corridors while carrying the glances from students as I dash past. Again no luck. I had about five minutes left, no choice but to just go back down to ten and hope for the best.

So down I go, and what was right in front of me? A huge balcony presenting Melbourne’s skyscrapers. I hurriedly stepped onto the timber bench and captured an aerial view of a passing tram, cyclist and parked cars beside a historical building that still holds the charm of the past.

I decided to name the picture “Sonder” (the realisation that each random passer-by is living a life as vivid and complex as your own). From straight out of high school, to congregating in the same room as people who have come from all different walks of life and share a common interest as you, is mind blowing. It’s probably the same with the passengers on the tram, the cyclist and the drivers who’ve all arrived at one destination from all directions of the city.

I guess within those ten minutes, I was able to appreciate the little things and find the reasons to why I call Melbourne home.