Being so far away from Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina during Hurricane Matthew can easily make you feel detached from the situation threatening the southern states. Maybe you're worried about your grandparents, your vacation home or your friends at school there. You're far away, though chances are you remember Hurricane Sandy coming up the east coast or you've never even experienced a hurricane, but hope that the Sunshine State is ok when all is said and done. Florida need's your prayers, but they are very well prepared for this storm. That's because they weren't prepared 12 years ago.
In 2004, my family moved to Orlando. We found the perfect house that had one unique feature. The previous owners were from the Philippines and had been in some typhoon's, so they figured a house in Florida would be hit by a hurricane and would need automatic hurricane shutters. Our neighbors made fun of us for thinking it would come handy since a major hurricane hadn't hit the state since Andrew in 1992. In our first six months in Florida, our house went from laughing stock of the neighborhood to "Hurricane Party" house.
The two years my family spent in the Sunshine State were the two most active and destructive seasons in modern history. I barely went to school during hurricane season, and have vivid memories of being stuck inside for hours as nature took its wrath out on Florida.
When the meterologists first report on a tropical storm forming, people don't think too much of it. Then it grows, it's given a name and it's predicted to become a major storm with an actual threat of damage. That's when you run to Costco and stock up on water and non-refrigerable foods. The shelves become empty and the lines are long. You fill up your bathtub with water, fill up your gas tank, board up your windows and pull out the board games. You find a stock pile of flashlights and candles, radios and old plug into the wall phones for when the power goes out. Then you wait.
At first, it's just a heavy rain storm with lots of wind gusts. There's no lightning or thunder. While the storm was weaker, all the closest neighbors would get together for a "Hurricane Party" to make the best out of it all. When the news reports the storm will soon be getting worse or the power begins to flicker, everyone makes their way back home, where they brace for the worst but pray for the best.
You go to sleep, wake up and nothing outside seems to have changed. There's no power, no showers, just peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The radio will give you a few updates, but otherwise, you're stuck waiting it out. You're in the dark, literally and figuratively. Our dog would have to go pee in the garage. My parents would make calls to our neighbor's houses to check on everyone. Then there would be reports of tornado's nearby.
Then the storm would stop. The power wouldn't come back on for a few days. Everything in the frodge would have to be thrown out and you'd be begging for a shower. Disney is the heart of Orlando. To Floridians, Disney brings the community together when they need it most. They would let everyone stuck with no power come in and for a short time, you could remember you weren't going home to a dark, stuffy house.
No matter what happened to your house, it doesn't matter as long as you still have a roof over your head and everyone you love is still there. You try to help elderly neighbors clean up debris and realize how lucky you are. When your life is completely out of your hands, you learn perspective, you count your blessings twice and you remember to hug everyone a little tighter.
No matter what happens, Florida and the south will be ok. They're strong, they've been through the worst and are ready for whatever is coming. Send them prayers and count your blessings for them.
