Katrina 5 years later

The question was asked to me, How did Katrina change me. This was my replay.

"I came to Louisiana to start a new life just 30 days before "she" hit. I was in a motel room west of the city and looking for an apartment. The storm was bad but our motel suffered no real damage that I could see.

The aftermath was the worst thing I have ever endured. I listened to people on the radio begging anyone to help other people stuck in their attics or stranded on roofs who were dying of dehydration. Everyone in the motel I was in was left crying and trying to find lost loved ones for weeks. Then weeks turned to months. I saw violence from people who were supposed to be helping. I saw people taking advantage of the stranded and helpless. I saw the worst in people that I never knew could happen.

I saw some good though. Local stores donating food that would have otherwise rotted. Motel owners doing everything they could to accommodate anyone looking for a place to rest a weary head.

How it all affected me is rather odd. High winds panic me. I now have several different friends in several different states that I can use for evacuation destinations. I dont trust any insurance company. But I have also made a more positive turn in behavior too. I try to understand people instead of blowing them off. I take the non-expressway roads to where I want to go hoping I will see something I can cherish. I take better care of the people I love and make sure they know I love them no matter what. I have learned that things can be replaced and not to sweat the small stuff. My heart is still breaking for those who lost and are still in turmoil over the trauma and drama the storm caused. May I never forget it either. I never want to be numb or indifferent to it. I want to remember what it is like to see a mothers face the day she found her child searching the shelters out of state, using my laptop . Her gratitude was over whelming. I never want to forget letting the children, who were staying at the motel, help me put up Christmas lights, and I was gently reminded about Kwanzaa and then Hanukkah and Yule. By the time my window was decorated it was so beautiful I cried. It made me realize "this is how its supposed to be".

I suppose I can say it changed me for the better."