Personal Narrative: My New Orleans Recovery

“Hurricane Maria has been officially named a category five storm. It has torn its way through Puerto Rico, leaving the island without electricity and fresh water.” Shocked, I turned up the radio. The reporter continued, “Many buildings and homes have been destroyed due to powerful 155 mph winds…” My insides dropped as if someone cut the strings of a marionette. Trying to control my ragged breathing, I pulled into the parking lot of my new school.

If it had been up to me, reconstruction would have gone a little differently. My ideas for reconstruction probably would have been seen as extreme at the time. In my opinion we should have forgiven the south and possibly have had some form of oath or apology in place, but afterwards joined together as a country and given african american people the exact same rights as white people. And we should have put punishments in place for those who chose not to comply. In the beginning i think this might have sparked a lot of anger or controversy but eventually people would have gotten used to treating african americans like they would anybody else. In my opinion, we probably would not face as many problems with racism as we do now if we had taken

The one significant message that I would like to point out from this essay is “I believe the soul of this place cannot be easily destroyed by wind and rain. I believe the music here will live and people will continue to dance. I believe in “Darlin’” and “Baby.” I believe in “Where ‘yat’?” and “Makin’ groceries.” I believe in neighborhoods where Mardi Gras Indians sew beaded costumes, kids practice trumpet in the street, and recipes for okra can provide conversation for an entire afternoon.” (Miller, M. 2013) To me, this essay captures the quality of being worthy of attention. It conveys the author's feelings towards New Orleans and in not so many words why he chose to move back. To me, these poignantly fifteen words said drove the point home,

The mighty winds whistled through, the glass panes shook, and all of a sudden a tree branch fell near my window. Was this a dream or a reality, I do not know. Rubbing my eyes, I got off the bed and moved towards the kitchen. I looked outside and my backyard was like a war zone. The trash cans were flipped over, tree branches and lots of leaf had fallen in the yard. I did not dare to step outside. Yes, I was NOT dreaming, the Hurricane Gustav had really struck Baton Rouge. This happened in 2008, but I can vividly remember how scared how was, and the destruction the storm had caused. with mighty winds and torrential downpour struck Baton Rouge in 2008.

When I first heard my youth group was traveling to New Orleans, I pictured Disney’s The Princess and the Frog. My perception of New Orleans was heavily influenced by Hollywood. At that point, I had very little authentic exposure to the Southern lifestyle, and would have told you it wasn’t my cup of tea. After all, I wasn’t fond of country music and believed Southern accents were a little annoying. Once upon a time I gagged when anyone mentioned seafood, and secretly wondered why anyone would live in an area prone to destructive hurricanes. Little did I know how much someone could learn about a city’s culture in a week.

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Ten years ago on the Saturday before Hurricane Katrina, I was a five year who had just started a new school and was looking forward to my Saturday morning cartoons. When I woke up on that Saturday morning; however, I quickly found out that watching Saturday morning cartoons was not going to be on the agenda for the day. My parents were running around frantically trying to board our house and get everything from outside picked up. I later found out that we would be packing the car and my dad, mom, six month old baby sister and I would be traveling to Houston, Texas. Before leaving New Orleans for what we thought would be a weekend getaway, my mom searched and searched for a hotel room for us to go stay in. She finally made a reservation in Houston via

Then the world began shutting down. The airports, which was awful because our Mom was still in Utah, visiting her sister. The schools, which was great for the first day, and good for the second, and then as time went on it became less enjoyable and less fun. The roads were impossible so the fridge was emptying quickly. We couldn’t watch television because Channel 5 covered the blizzard all day. A motorist, dead of exposure in a stranded car. A man, dead of a heart

Moving to post-Katrina New Orleans in 2006 to begin my undergraduate education at Tulane University I had the opportunity to become involved in the rebuilding of an entire city. I interned and volunteered across New Orleans,

“Uh ohh,” my mom said,”It looks like the storm will hit us directly. We’ll have to go to our safe place.” Hurricane Irma (2017) would hit my city hard. It would cause damage to buildings and would cause businesses to be closed. This created worry to me and my community. A hurricane that is coming calls for evacuation, and that calls for preparation.

In 1918 a small group of dishevelled travellers arrived in New Orleans. Their eyes were wide rimmed with dark and soon after their arrival harrowing tales began to emerge about their origins. These were the survivors of the Hammond Circus train wreck.

New Orleans was home to many proud people who loved their roots. It was well known that the night life never stopped there along with the vibrant music. The nightlife and music were the two lonesome things that Kol actually enjoyed about the town in Louisiana. Everything else in the French Quarter brought back unwelcome memories for him. Many family feuds occurred there in the past. If it wasn’t for Rebekah, he would be lounging in Milan instead of driving up to his family’s home. The house happened to have a swimming which made the house more bearable for him.

When I visited Tulane in April, I immediately fell in love with the campus and the city of New Orleans. On the campus tour, I could feel the energy and excitement of the students who were laughing and talking on their way to their next class. The enthusiasm for learning expressed by my tour guide, a campus in the middle of one of the most vibrant cities in the US was absolutely contagious. As she explained the traditions that Tulane holds, such as the Crawfish Festival and how the Tulane Marching Band plays in the Mardi Gras Parades, I understood that Tulane is built on a foundation of strong relationships between many different kinds of people. I loved this energy making Tulane definitely a school and community that I want to be a part of.

One stroll through the streets of Miami, in the USA brings up mixed feelings – on one hand you can call it modern and laidback, and could also draw comparisons, with say, New York for that matter; for the most liberal city in the USA. Having said that, on the other hand, it also does have a safety worry and a tempestuous past attached to it. Almost every single public area you set foot in, there is evidence that compliments the fact, amidst the strict vigil at every corner. Florida is also known to be quite a hit with families and children, but for most of it, it is a great place to come with friends. And one look at a gigantic rollercoaster is not only intimidating; it successfully manages to terrify you. But, it really is not something to worry much and jeopardise a trip, as there is so much more to do to freak out than, well, “freak out”!

I shot up and did my morning routine. We left at around 10 A.M. It was going to take an hour to get there. As long as it’s out of Savannah. On the way, I saw a sign in the woods reading “free hugs”. I’m not going there. We also went in 2 cars due to people and luggage. My mom’s friend and her family was also coming with us in another car. When we got there and unpacked, I felt so relieved to get away from Hurricane Matthew. I immediately looked for the wifi password. There was five families there. It was like Thanksgiving. I was a little nervous about the type of damage that would happen to my house. It was not boring. I had lots of things to do. My friends were there. We watched Netflix, played poker, and played other games. It was fun there, I forgot all my worries. I stayed there for 3 days, I think. In total, 23 were put in that 2-story house. My cousin brought his 2 parakeets. I didn’t completely dodge the storm. I still got rain and hard winds where I was, but I was safer