The storm had already been going on for about two hours, and it wasn’t close to being over. This storm was serious. Our delicate windows were surrounded with a sticky adhesive to make sure our windows did not shatter. This was the first storm that forced us to tape our windows for safety. Just staring at the tape gave me the chills.

My twelve year old cousin lives in Tampa, Florida. When I was in fourth grade, she told me that hurricanes hit her home state every once in a while. In the public schools of Florida, the administrators give not only fire drills, but hurricane drills too. During hurricane drills, the students duck down to the ground and crawl underneath their desks. The purpose of this drill was to prepare for the worst situation possible. My family lives in New York and we have not had any training for the unexpected disaster that was yet to come.


My mom called me into our kitchen with a startling voice implying that something was wrong. I scrambled into the kitchen and forced myself to slowly lift my head and gaze at the dangling piece of greenery that was now hung above my head. I moved my eyes down to the sliding glass door observing a giant tree just inches from the roof of our house. One of our beloved honey-locust trees had just become uprooted. I heard an echo bounce off the wall, but then realized it just was me screaming.

Environment is a big part of my life. I recycle, save unneeded energy, and even care for all of our trees. At that moment all I wanted to do, was wrap my trembling hands around the fallen piece of my heart. I also wanted to comfort my swing set as the tree had crushed our beloved, little fort, only leaving a crack right down the middle. That tree was propped up against my house. The roof was the only guard that kept the tree from intruding our home. We could have gotten hurt. We could have lost our home. We could have lost the feeling of safety. We were lucky, but how long can our luck last?

Just minutes after, another tree fell. That was when my mind blanked. I could not think of what could happen next. The second tree’s damage was not as bad, but there were still more trees that could possibly fall. There was one tree in particular that I feared could not survive. This was a loose, honey-locust tree, half-way rested to the ground, almost floating in mid-air. If this next tree fell, my dad said he would cut the rest of our honey-locust trees down. This tree now could not fall. If this tree fell, then it was the end of my hope. Without hope, what can you look forward to?


I dragged a chair to the closest window and pulled my eyes onto the electrifying damage from the incredible downpour. The water pellets hit the ground so hard that they seemed almost invisible. I watched the tipped over tree swing back and forth like a pendulum within the horror scene. I could not look at the situation any further. I moved my chair back to its original place and avoided every window located in my house. I positioned myself to sit on our living room couch and fell down immediately. My ten year old sister strolled into the room and saw the sadness in my eyes. She placed herself right next to me and told me that everything was going to be ok.

If she had the courage to look on the positive side, why couldn’t I? I started to rethink. What if this was my opportunity to plant all new trees? This could be my chance to make a difference in our world. The only way for me to notice this possibility was to wait for the moment that stood out above the others. Hurricane Irene gave me inspiration, the inspiration to make the world a better place to live. We should be able to live in a world with the natural features of our earth, the earth that Mother Nature gave us. I asked my mom if she would consider the idea of planting new trees. She approved my proposal and said one day I could. I guess a life threatening situation can really open someone’s eyes.

As of today, October 13, 2011, my swing set is half disassembled from Hurricane Irene’s damage. Although we may have seen this event as a curse at first, it was not all bad. Now the local woodpecker would not try and weaken the swing set poles. It was time for a change within our family. Change is sometimes a good thing, as it may give you a new view on life. Maybe our tree was supposed to live forever, maybe it was always destined for failure, but we will never know. The only thing we can do now is move on into our future and see where ride takes us.