Two Words: Hurricane Season

As a child, I remember hearing about Hurricane Katrina and the devastating impact it had on Louisiana and its residents. Over the past twenty-two years, the closest experience I’ve had with hurricanes was through interactions with evacuees and the remnants of heavy rain that made its way to Memphis, Tennessee. I never expected to experience a hurricane, let alone one with a comparable magnitude to Katrina. Tennessee has tornadoes, not hurricanes!

On August 11, 2021, I made my first big, out-of-state move from Memphis to New Orleans. Sixteen short days later, I found myself in a state of pure unease, rushing home from class to pack and evacuate the city I had just begun to know and love. In the days leading up to Hurricane Ida’s arrival, I didn’t know what to expect. “Should I be worried about the storm that is coming?” I must have asked this question to every person I knew who had ever experienced a hurricane. 

 

One aspect of the pharmacology program that made me choose Tulane was having the opportunity to volunteer within the New Orleans community, which I have always heard was close-knit and service-oriented. While there was no shortage of devastation brought on by Hurricane Ida, and it was heartbreaking to see the suffering and damage done within Louisiana, this experience provided me with the opportunity to witness firsthand the community come together as if it were a family and work towards the goal of restoring the city. During the evacuation, I was able to keep track of what was happening within New Orleans and the surrounding areas and saw so many organizations and resources through social media and other platforms that were providing support to those who had been so profoundly affected by the storm. Witnessing these acts of kindness, even from afar, made me all the more ready to return and immerse myself in the city and its community.

 

Having returned to New Orleans last week, I find myself optimistic for the months to come in the city that has become so special to me in such a short amount of time. There is certainly still work that needs to be done to get back to “normal,” and I am actively looking to find community outreach opportunities in the upcoming months to aid in this process. 

                                                                                                   

 

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