I was still in college during Hurricane Sandy. My family and I were home watching the news tracking how big this storm was going to be. We didn’t think it’d be that bad, it usually never gets that bad in this area. We noticed the river near our house was abnormally higher than usual and it was flooding the roads. We got a little worried and started praying. Later, the power went out so we were sitting in the dark. We tried to keep our minds occupied when we realized the garage started flooding. We tried to take out as much water as we could with buckets but the water was getting in too fast so we gave up. My grandmother started crying and my father was yelling. He was really angry. We were in our living room when we heard a huge crack followed by water gushing in. The water uprooted our house and the house was cracked in half. At this point, our first floor was flooding and we were trying keep ourselves together. Since the house was split in half, it was hard to maneuver around. We tried grabbing everything we could before the fire department came and rescued us. When the water receded a few hours later, we were allowed to see the aftermath. Half of our house was at a slant. You can clearly see the crack the water made and you could see our basement from the outside.

 

We had to live with my aunt for the time being. During that time, there was a lot of anger and blaming. Everybody started blaming each other for why all this happened to us. My parents were claiming it was bad karma because of what my sister and I have done in the past like being disrespectful. The whole experience estranged me from my parents. We’re still trying to patch things together but it’s very different now. My sister and I didn’t get along before but after this, we settled our differences. Especially since our parents were almost against us the entire time. The song brings back those really bad feelings but at the same time make me feel that it will be things will work out. It just takes some time. I think of it as a release. An emotional release. I want to let everything out and scream and dance. I want to feel okay. 

 

Now Playing: The Middle by Jimmy Eats World