The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering”

The people of New Orleans know this saying quite well. On August 29th, 2005, Hurricane Katrina swept over New Orleans, Louisiana, resulting in over 1,400 people dead. Houses were destroyed, leaving many people and families homeless. A community filled with jazz, Louisiana inspired food and southern hospitality was now facing a devastating force of nature beyond their control. These shocking events occur within our lives not to destroy us, but to show us how strong we are as a community and as an individual.

In August of 2011, I was diagnosed with severe Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. It was an eye-opening experience that would change my life forever, and would ignite the fire that burned my passion for helping others. I knew what it felt like to seem that the odds were against you and that nothing would be able to get better from that point in time. Once I was able to overcome the odds, I wanted to be the person who inspired others to keep fighting and to not give up on hope. When I saw the flyer for the spring break trip to New Orleans, I knew it was an opportunity I had to take. Many people questioned me on how a young woman with Arthritis would be able to travel down to Louisiana to help build a home for someone in need. Although the task would be a challenge, the end result would be so much more rewarding. Not only would I be able to prove to not just my peers, but myself that I could do whatever I set my mind to regardless of my illness, but I would also get to help a stranger affected by Hurricane Katrina have a home.

Upon arriving at the airport in New Orleans, I was eager to start working and immerse myself into the amazing experience that would unfold. Unfortunately, as a result of a heavy suitcase, I fell down the escalator at the airport, landing myself in the hospital with stitches and a bruised body. For someone with a sensitive body as a result of Arthritis, the old me would have gone home, scared and affected by falling and not wanting to injure myself any further. However, when my parents asked me if I wanted to fly back home, I immediately said no. The cause I was working for was too great and I could never go home knowing what my work here meant to someone. A few stiches and bruises would not nearly be enough to get me to leave and to stop my volunteer work. I had come too far in my life to let this accident stop me. The people of New Orleans need all the help they can get and I would not let them down.

Although my entrance to New Orleans was a bit to be desired, I left with a heart and mind full of inspiration, motivation and some Louisiana love.  The people of New Orleans would always thank us for our work, even if they were strangers passing us on the street. What made it so effecting was seeing the destruction that Hurricane Katrina had caused. Driving through the Lower Ninth Ward, the area affected most by the hurricane, was a moment I will never forget. Houses that were once filled with families and joy, now stood empty and torn apart. Staircases leading up to nothing but the sky were scattered around the area, signifying that a house was there but had been swept away by the storm. What was most devastating was the large “X” on the houses, indicators that someone in the house had died from the hurricane. Even walking through the French Quarter, you hear men, women and children singing songs of loss and grief, most of the time as results from losing something in the hurricane. Moment’s like this made my will to stay even larger. It made me realize that what I had went through, as a young girl with Arthritis, would make me stronger to help people. It made me stronger to help the people of New Orleans who are in so much need of our help.

Choosing to volunteer over Spring break instead of traveling or going to the beach with my friends was an easy decision. If anything my life has taught me so far, it is that time is a precious thing that can stop at any moment, and what we as people should do, is to use the time we have to make a difference. Whether that difference is small or large, it is a difference that could change someone’s life.

The Saint Bernard Project in New Orleans gave me the opportunity to volunteer for such an incredible cause. Even today, families are still affected by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the Saint Bernard Project receives hundreds of emails asking for help. If you or anyone you know is interested in volunteering or donating to the Saint Bernard project, visit their website. You can be the reason someone is allowed to come back home.