New Orleans Seven Years Later

By Feliz Moreno

Think back to the morning of Aug. 29, 2005. For many Americans this date stands out as the day Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on a good portion of the American southeast, particularly the city of New Orleans.

Most of us remember its impact in some way, but it's been seven years since. Katrina happened a long time ago, but unfortunately there are still a lot of houses and a lot of people that bare the scars of Katrina. Fortunately though, there people who remember the atrocities of Katrina and are willing to help to continue rebuilding the city.

I arrived in New Orleans the weekend after fall quarter with a mission to do just that. The 19 of us weren't really sure what would be waiting for us when we stepped off the plane. What struck me was hearing about all the regular people who did everything they could to rebuild the city and the community.

Church groups and nurses come to help gut houses. People took their own boats out to get medicine for sick people who were stranded.

I was impressed with the actions of these individuals in the wake of such a huge disaster.

I think we all get caught up sometimes in our own problems and all the things we can't do. It is easy to feel like there are so many things outside of your control, and like you are just one person with only 24 hours to spend in a day.

That's how I felt when Katrina hit, horrified that I was safe in my California home with no means to help. I especially felt like that standing in front of that hollowed out New Orleans house, wondering how the hell a normal college student like me could possibly be of any use. But somehow we rebuilt that house, one slab of drywall at a time. Just as the people who had volunteered in 2005 had cleaned and gutted one house at a time. Just as helicopter pilots had lifted one helpless person off the roof at a time.

As big or as small as my contribution may have been, I know that at least it made a difference. I hope that next time you feel discouraged in the face of a situation that seems too big for someone like you to grapple with, you realize that we have all felt like that.

Big impact issues are hard to tackle; they take years and large amounts of people, but are extremely rewarding and give ordinary people the chance to do some really extraordinary things. It's those extraordinary things that make a difference.

Feliz Moreno is a sophomore English major and editor of the Opinion section.