This week, the unthinkable happened to my hometown of New York City. It was devastated by Hurricane Sandy, as were most surrounding areas in New Jersey, Long Island and Upstate New York. I have to admit, this hit hard for me and was that one eye-waking moment that made me not enjoy being so far away from my family. I was scared, I was concerned, I was worried, but more importantly, I was helpless. Ugh, how I hate that word and feeling. This was a full on storm that destroyed homes, took lives and left “the city that never sleeps" drowning and burning. Never in my life did I ever think I would see the day that the subway system would have to be shut down for days on end or that NYC schools had to be closed for a week because of a “natural disaster". As I read articles, facebook statuses and looked at pictures of the devastation left behind in it's wake, I could not and still cannot believe it is real. But it is and the unfortunate thing is that I whole-heartedly believe that this storm has brought on a new dawn for us East Coasters. I have been saying it for years that eventually we too would endure hurricanes and massive storms and the scary part is that we are not built for them, nor do we have the same mindset as those that are used to such extreme weather conditions.
When I heard that the Red Cross was holding a telethon to help raise money to aid the victims of Hurricane Sandy, all I could think about were the recent telethons held for the Tsunami of 2004, Hurricane Katrina, and the Haiti earthquake and how much more surreal this made it for me. Yet another “never thought I'd see" moment. Well, one thing is for sure, I may be thousands of miles away but I will do my part. I have made my donation and will continue to take part in any efforts that I can while here in Malta until I return home, because NYC is my home and the home of my family so we have to come together to help repair our home.
Mother Nature beat on us badly this week but if there is one thing I know for sure and am truly proud of, is knowing that we are a city made up of fighters, people who understand what it is to struggle and what it takes to survive a struggle. We are a tough city, a strong city and we will be an even better city because of this. I ask that you stand together and work together to make NYC the greatest city in the world. Get involved, use your voice and help rebuild your community. In many ways, we were due for an overhaul and I think that Mother Nature gave us that push. So move with it in a positive direction! Change is never easy and never pretty but I have faith NYC, do me proud. I want to be able to brag about how well my city is recovering from this to those here, but more importantly to show them that we are a people to be reckoned with.
Frank sang it best “If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere, it's up to you New York, New York"
Now show the world whatcha got!
I Love You, New York City! Keep your head up, your faith strong and your heart pure and nothing will be able to stop us!
God Bless!
~K
My technorati short code is D2MEYBBZAZ48
No comments:
Post a Comment