In recent months, the strength of our human resilience has gone through the ulitmate series of tests. These tests manifest themesleves in the form of natural disasters like, hurricanes and earthquakes. Mother Nature has always issued these tests, but the frequency of the most recent hurricanes and earthquake that struck central Mexico is troubling in the sense that it has the potential to overwhelm our capcity to rebuild -- or offer aid.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a brigade of troops, first responders, and volunteers descended on the New Orleans. Rescue and recovery efforts recieved back-to-back coverage within the local, national, and international media outlets. And forign governments and private citizens alike mobailized to offer aid to the victims. However, the national media outlets would soon leave New Orleans to find their next story, and most of the world soon direct their attention away from New Orleans. Not too long ago, I came across an article published by the New York Times. According to the article, New Orleans was still recovering from Katrina, even ten-years after the storm. According to the United States Forest Service, around ten-percent of New Orleans trees died in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrian -- and efforts are still underway to repopulate the city with trees. The repopulation of tress may seem meaninless at first, but according to the Forest Service, tree population has an enourmous impact on the lives of species like, bees and birds.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, we begun the same cycle. Troops, first responders, and volunteers decednded on the area impacted by the storm. Likewise, national and international media outlets started to cover the storm on an endless loop. And Politicians gave uplifting speeches while standing in the middle of debris while underscoring the "resilience" of their constituents. Shortly after Hurricane Harvey, the world would witness Hurricane Maria, and then the devastating earthquake that struck centeral Mexico. In a sense, the increase in the frequency of these natural disasters has merely "sped-up" the cycle that I referenced earlier, with outlets like, CNN now covering the eathquake in Mexico and Hurricane Maria simultaneously.

The way inwhich we report and recover from the devastation from these natual disasters has fundamentally changed with the advancement of social media. Today, anyone with a SmartPhone can share photos of the devastation. Likewise, applications and websites through organzations like, the American Red Cross make it easier to donate to the recovery efforts. However, like everything else in life, there are pros and cons to the advancement of social media within this process. Too often, we mistake symbolic gestures for action. In the aftermath of any tradgedy you will immediatly witness a number of your friends on social media platforms updating their profile photo to include a filter that reads, "Pray for [enter impacted area here]." Likewise, many of our friends will publish Facebook statuses that read, "Pray for [enter impacted area here]."

I am a Christian who believes in the power of prayer, but it frustrates me when individuals update their profile photo or author a Facebook post believe that their efforts will have an impact. There are far too many other ways that we can aid victims of natural disasters for this to be enough. Being a college student, I understand that not everyone has the financial means to donate large sums of money to the American Red Cross. However, even small donations can have an profound impact. Last week, I ordered a grande caramel Frappuccino from Starbucks, which cost around $5.00 -- I could have easily took that money and donated it to a disaster recovery relief organzation. Likewise, we can share links to non-profit organzations and encouage our friends to donate money. Imagine if everyone who updated their profile photo to include a filter donated $5.00 to the American Red Cross. I firmly believe that there is power in numbers, and that social media has the capacity to allow us to pass these tests from Mother Nature.