Personal Narrative: Sights, Sounds, And Smells Of Sandy

Sights, Sounds, and Smells of Sandy I remember waking up that October morning. It was unusually cold and windy outside, especially for Orlando, Florida, where I was vacationing with my family at a Walt Disney World resort. We weren’t going to let a little cold weather stop us from enjoying “the most magical place on Earth,” so we bundled up in layers and headed out for another day of fun. After a long day full of memories and laughs, we returned to our hotel room and turned on the television. That was the moment that we learned the reason for our bizarre weather – Hurricane Sandy had hit the East Coast, causing more than $75 billion in damage and destroying everything in its path. Almost four years later, I got the opportunity to not only help rebuild someone’s home, but to open my eyes in unimaginable ways. I joined seven youth and eight adults from my home church of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Dayton, Ohio, on an early June morning to journey to Bayville, New Jersey. Once we arrived, we met with the executive director of Jersey Shore United, Barry Moll. Through his organization, victims of the calamitous storm were receiving assistance in rebuilding their homes. As I stepped through the doorway of our project site, my eyes wandered to find a place in the house that didn’t need to be …show more content…
Our first order of business was to finish spackling drywall seams before we could begin sanding the walls. I grabbed a mudding tray and putty knife and joined my friends in the messy process that would eventually make the room that was once in shambles feel like home again. Wednesday of that same week I had the privilege of meeting the homeowner of my project site who shared her unbelievable story. It was then that I realized the importance of community; the importance of having a group of loving people to support you when your life gets flipped upside down; the importance of demonstrating love and compassion through our hands and