Redefining Life: Unrecognizable

Devastation. Decimation. Obliteration. Carnage. Annihilation. Havoc. Chaos. Ruin. Wreckage.

These are just a few of the words that came to my mind as I drove down SE 149th street into the destruction of the May 20 tornado that hit Moore. The closer I got to the actual path of the tornado, the worse it got, obviously. It's very hard to put into words what happened. Not just to my surroundings, but what happened in me, in my head. When I found a place to park, I trekked through the rain that had just started and made my way back to the road. I saw a pair of muddy jeans by my foot that belonged to a child and that's when I realized the magnitude of what I was walking into.

It wasn't the shredded houses or the crumpled cars that got to me. It was the humanity that was strewn about. Those could have been my jeans. My pictures. My life in someone else's yard. Or in a tree, there was a lot of debris in some of the remaining trees. I had seen videos of the tornado coming within a thousand feet or so of people I know and I feared for them, but I knew they were okay. I'd seen pictures of downed power lines. Everything that I had seen on TV and from friends in Moore didn't quite register, I guess. It took actually seeing it for myself for it to be more than just pictures and videos.

It was now tangible. It was real. When the news said it was "like a war zone" they were absolutely right. It was like a bomb had gone off and it went on as far as the eye could see. Some houses had it worse than their neighbors, and there were some houses that looked like they had just been built. Surreal. It was utterly surreal and I know I walked around with a shocked look on my face.

I eventually found my way to the house I was looking for. It was interesting to see the path of destruction just go from one side of the street and then skip a bit and hit the next street harder than the street before. I just can't explain it. It was a lot to take in. There wasn't even much to do. Just search through the rubble and find things that you can salvage. Pictures, clothes, memories. You put it in bags and boxes, whatever you can.

Getting to wherever you needed to go was absolutely horrific. Having to park a mile and a half away from your destination. If you can't get to your house to get your stuff, what do you do? You don't want to leave your belongings there, especially in the rain. Do you attempt to outrun the police and sneak past them? You do what you have to do to get your stuff, that's just all there is to it.

I don't have any pictures or videos that are going to go viral. I don't have a personal story about things that I've lost because I didn't lose anything. I did all I knew to do: I donated water to a couple different places, I tried to help and clean up a home that was ripped from end to end, I donated money via text at least three times. Why? Because I can't sit back and do nothing.

Do what you can, even if it is just positive energy/thoughts. It may seem like it's nothing, but let's be honest, it does amazing. When you share a smile with someone who has nothing left, they have something because of you. So please, whether you're able to donate money, time or supplies, remember that every little bit you give matters to someone in the middle of this chaos.