This picture was taken 8 months post Hurricane Harvey. The storm that changed this city forever.
What people that don’t live here can’t understand is, what we lived through was not expected, nor was it prepared for. We prepared for a “bad” storm, we prepared for a temporary moment in time that would be “uncomfortable” for a little while. We did not prepare for a life-altering week that would forever change the very fabric of this city and all who lived through it. Even now, it all seems like a bad dream, that just will not go away.
This picture brings back the peaceful feeling that I associate with my home, it brings back the peace that I had before Harvey stole it from me. It is the comforting feeling that we all took for granted until Harvey reared his ugly head and ripped it from all of us. It is the feeling of peace and gratitude that I will never take for granted, ever again. It is the resilience and determination of the Texan spirit that lives in all of us that call this place home. It is the reassurance that through every storm no matter how big, or small, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. This is the confirmation that we will rise again and be better than before.
For me, this picture is peace, resilience, and that the will to survive is greater than the will to give up and die. No matter how many times we get knocked down, we WILL get back up. Galveston is my peaceful place, the city is alive and has a soul of its own. It’s that one place that when I drive through, a sense of peace comes over me and fills my soul with happiness, and everything in the world is right again. This picture represents how I feel when I am home. It’s the peaceful feeling most never find and if I only have it for a mere season more, I have accomplished everything I set out to accomplish.
