Overcoming obstacles and persevering after Sandy

It’s a difficult concept to understand; it leaves us distraught, unsettled, and discontent. The simple thought that our world can become so disjointed by the power of nature is worrisome. But perhaps we can learn from it.

One year ago, nature chose an unfavorable course; Hurricane Sandy levied riveting effects upon our community. It introduced us to a world of angst and fear, a period in which our lives were paralyzed. But more importantly, it was an eye opening experience that proved what life is truly about: love, togetherness, and the precious moments that we so often take for granted.

“It’ll never happen to me.” That’s what I always thought. But Sandy hit and hit hard, indeed. The vivid image of a once-innocent tree, sprouting with life, morphed into a tree of destruction. That same tree broke my house and my sense of security. Days in the dark were like weeks in the dark. They were comprised of deviating from the normal rhythms of daily life, resorting to a reality that was quite foreign to me. Our community had limited food sources, relied upon candles as a means of light, suffered from technology withdrawal, and waited on hour-long lines for gasoline. These moments are ingrained in my mind, our minds. They are bleak, yet in fact, life-changing memories.

Stories of anguish and distress were prevalent within the Five Towns community. Junior Gabrielle Korin is just one of the many students who sharply recalls the day of the storm. “My house sits right by the water. Early into the storm, the water started flushing in through the garage, then the backdoor, and then the front door. It was rising so quickly that my family sprinted to save everything in the house,” Korin said. “Even today, we are still getting pipes fixed. Although there was physical recovery necessary for my house, it was the mental recovery that was more difficult. Our whole life changed within a matter of hours.”

Undoubtedly, this was an unpreventable situation, a part of life we could not change. But our local community could change how we would react to such a tragedy and how we would strive to overcome the repercussions of the storm. And so we did.

Perhaps we were driven by something larger than ourselves: the desire to give back to a community that we cherish. Therefore, a storefront reserved on Irving Place became a home to food and clothing drives. Hewlett High School students from the Youth Leadership Forum volunteered to organize the donated items. Additionally, the Woodmere Middle School provided hot showers to all those in need. Eventually returning back to school revived a sense of much-missed order and normalcy. The Hewlett-Woodmere community clearly remained strong and our resilience was undeniable.

I realize that although the tree outside my house is no longer present, its memorable impact certainly is. Reminiscing, one year later, I learned something invaluable; life is precious and we must appreciate every moment we are given. Ultimately, Hurricane Sandy has taught us all to persevere and along the way, overcome any “insurmountable barriers” that attempt to impede upon our journey.