All the pictures, articles, and news reports could not have prepared my soul from the heartache of what it was about to witness. Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath left nothing but devastation in her path, leaving ghost towns for neighborhoods, homes dilapidated, and with resilient locals determined to overcome. As I slowly drove down the first hauntingly, quiet, empty street, I could not help but feel my shiny car was grossly out of place. As I turned the key abruptly to quiet the engine I used to think so gently purred, I closed my eyes and pictured how this once bustling, busy neighborhood used to look and sound. My heart felt like it was playing a game of tug-a-war, as I watched a mother with what looked to be the weight of the world on her
