Houston, Texas has been my home my entire life. The people, the culture, the diversity, the food, and just the overall environment provides such a "home-sweet-home" aura to me. Anytime Itravel out somewhere for a long period of time and claim I dread going back to my regular, daily routine, deep inside I am always content with returning to the magnificent, highly progressive city I am proud to call home. My whole life is here.

That being said, when one of the most tragic and costliest natural disasters to ever occur in history, better known as Hurricane Harvey, hit Houston this past weekend after hitting other cities on the southeastern coast of Texas, I, and the entire city were truly heartbroken to see our city and its people in this state. Harvey has dumped more water on the city of Houston than half of the United States has seen all year. Imagine that...8 months into 2017. Harvey is now claimed as the most extreme rain event in U.S. History, which in result, caused billions of dollars in damages.

Just a few days prior to Harvey's arrival, people across the nation were preparing themselves for the phenomenon that would be the Solar Eclipse, which occurred Monday, August 21st, 2017. The last total Solar Eclipse seen from the United States was in 1979. Becuase of this, news stations everywhere were buzzing and everyone was rushing to stores last minute to buy solar eclipse-efficient glasses. While everyone feared they would burn their retinas by looking at the sun, a tropical depression-soon turn Hurricane- was moving towards the Gulf of Mexico and the coast of Texas.

Our weather in Houston is pretty unpredictable. That being said, a lot of us didn't take the plethora of storm warnings very seriously. We figured Harvey would weaken, and we would receive just a small amount of rain. Boy, were we wrong. By Saturday, August 26th, everyone in Houston was pretty much aware that we would be hit soon. The weather during the day, however, was pretty calm, thus pushing Houstonians to go about their planned activities, such as watching the highly-anticipated boxing match between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather. That night, the wind and lightning intensified, and rain became pouring down the city. Many who left their homes to watch the fight became unable to return home, due to the treacherous floods that came about in such a short time. Within the next few days, Harvey made its impact on Houston, causing catastrophic flooding that would submerge homes, sink cars, and take the lives of people who tried to escape its wrath. Social media took a huge role throughout this time, allowing people to seek assistance in escaping their flooded homes and later, providing information on shelters around the city, and other ways one could help those who lost everything. The images of water-filled homes and freeways and people escaping their homes on boats seeking shelter surpassed local audiences and Hurricane Harvey soon became worldwide news.

(Photo Credits: Michael Ciaglo// Houston Chronicle  
Staff Photographer. (@MichaelCiaglo) 

Wednesday, August 30th, was Houston's 181st birthday. It just so happened that this very day was the day the rain had ceased, and Houstonians got a peek of the sun shining after what had felt like an eternity. Houston is notorious for having hot Summers, and well, hot Autumns too. All in all, we complain about the severe heat that our city receives most of the year. However, when the Sun has been gone for several days, and a dark, eerie vibe casts itself along your city alongside a downpour of rain, you can't help but be relieved and joyous at its return. Hurricane Harvey has caused much damage, physical and mental, but the brave and robust characteristics that Houstonians have demonstrated over the past few days entails a prosperous recovery. In terms of recovery, we are far from over, but with the assistance and prayers of those locally, nationally, and globally, the first responders, every-day citizens risking their lives to save others, and our immense love and pride for our city, we will overcome this hardship.

So now, the sun is shining, the sky is blue, and the wicked storm has passed. However, we will never forget the way Houstonians worked together to rescue their neighbors, and even people they had never spoke to a day in their life. We will never forget those who utilized social media to seek out help for those who desperately needed it. We will never forget those who lost their lives attempting to save themselves-and others. We will never forget the immense amount of love Houston has received. People nationwide have paid their respects and condolences towards our city and the tragic events we endured. Every-day civilians, athletes, celebrities, public figures, and just about everyone has made efforts to contribute to our recovery, whether that be with money, tangible donations, and/or with their best wishes. This notion means the entire world to our city. We are so grateful. Although I was lucky and blessed enough to not have had any significant damage to my home, my heart breaks for those who had to go through such a traumatic experience. However, as a Houston resident, still, I give huge thanks to all the people, the organizations, the businesses, the athletic teams, schools, etc, that have helped us kick-start our recovery. I thank the law enforcement for working long hours and risking their lives to rescue civilians. I thank the news stations for keeping us updated by providing excellent coverage and personal testimonies live on-air. I thank the people who have generously donated with the purpose of helping rebuild our beloved city. I thank all public figures and organizations that have donated themselves and helped spread awareness on our tragedy. I thank the business, the churches, and other places around Houston that have opened up their space to provide shelter to those who are in need. I thank the volunteers that have already sacrificed long hours of their day to help sort out donations and console evacuees. I thank all those that prayed for our city and continue to do so. I am always proud to be from Houston, and I never fail to rep my city everywhere I go. Having experienced something like this, and seeing how diligently we worked together, I have never been prouder to be a Houstonian.

Although this piece focuses solely on Harvey's effect on Houston, there are other cities that have seen its wrath and are in need of the public's prayers and assistance. The south-eastern coast of Texas has also endured tragedy through Harvey, so we must all keep them in our thoughts and hopefully, join forces to recover together.

#HoUStonStrong #PrayForTexas

We will get through this, together.

https://www.youcaring.com/victimsofhurricaneharvey...