The weekend of Katrina that Friday I was at work until five and had no idea there was another storm. I sort of stopped paying attention to the news because there seems to always be something out in the Gulf. Once my friend pointed out the magnitude of Katrina I quickly respected her capabilities. Saturday night I drove to New Orleans and picked up my boyfriend Manuel and we went to the movies, against my mom\'s urging for me to stay in Covington. My boyfriend and I saw the Brothers Grim which was bad and then went home to his house. Manuel stayed up working on his website until he suddenly decided to prepare for the storm by moving his expensive equipment to his seventh story practice room. The whole time I was sleeping in his room unaware of anything he was doing. The nest morning around eight o\' clock I woke up and told him to come to Covington with me. Manuel lived on Wingate right by UNO so I did not think he should stay so close to where they said Katrina would hit. After little prompting Manuel, his sister and her dog came to stay on the Northshore with my family. All of the men at my house prepared the house to weather the storm while the women cooked knowing we could loose power later on. When the storm came we were all spared the house took on some damage but nothing we were even aware of at the time. However the loss of power was noticed right away. My house became so hot we were all miserable. We stayed together in Covington for a few days, until Wednesday without electricity, but we had a gas stove and hot water heater so it was a lot better than it could have been. On Wednesday I drove Manuel\'s sister to Baton Rouge to stay with a friend. My mother and the rest of my family evacuated to Alabama. Manuel and I than packed up and drove to Port Arthur, Texas where we stayed with his mother and other family. After much thought the two of us decided to drive to Jacksonville, Florida where I had a friend and to try to enroll at the University of North Florida. We drove there and within a week we were enrolled and going to classes. It seemed like everything would be great but the school had no idea how to truly help us because this was so new for them. The college had just changed their whold computer system and we could not get in their blackboard system and therefore continued to be further behind in our classes. Unlike UNO teachers at the University of North Florida put all of their notes and assignments on Blackboard so if you are locked out of it essentially you are up the river without a paddle. So after a few weeks and much frustration we both decided to do online classes at UNO and to get off campus housing. We just moved in a week ago and hopefully we will find some sense of stability as we are both starting the semester over a third time. \r\n\r\n On a more personal note I wanted to explain how Hurricane Katrina affected my life. Before Katrina I always feared the destruction a hurricane could do but the thing I find the most frightening is the aftermath it has left. I am now eight hours away from my mother who I am close to and my closest sibling is six hours away in Robertsdale, Alabama. Everyone in my family survived, well I should say that they are still alive but the impact that this storm has made on me is never ending. Like most Louisiana natives I never really saw myself ever living somewhere else. Also I have been at the University of New Orleans for awhile now and imagined myself graduating from there. Since so many of my friends and family have relocated I am unsure of how close we will remain and if they will keep in touch. I am twenty five years old a junior at UNO and I find myself uncertain of what the future will bring for myself and for the great city of New Orleans that I love. In my life I now find uncertainty in my decisions about how my relationships will evolve or disintegrate, where I will live indefinitely and what school I will graduate from.\r\n\r\n I use to have my life mapped out; I knew what I wanted now I am not so sure. So many people have had to change their lives that now I am finding that I have to make some real adult choices about my own life. Prior to the storm everyone I knew and loved lived within thirty miles of me and now none of them do. I am being forced to live my life according to what is best for me and it is hard to stand on my two feet without the comfort I use to have at home at my mom\'s house. I have never been on my own so faraway from anyone that I could lean on. I am in a new city and as nice as Jacksonville, Florida is it just is not home. There is no seasoned food that much I promise. Where I now live people do not understand what I am going through. The last hurricane that hit Jacksonville was in 1964 so people just do not relate to what it is like. It is down right depressing going home you can see the sadness on everyone\'s mind. It is hard enough to change your life when you want to. I think that is part of it I have been forced by mother nature to turn my life upside down and I do not like it. I am afraid that life will get in the way of family and friends keeping in touch. I mean it is difficult to move to a new city and learn your way and on top of that to keep up with school look for employment. I am grateful that God has blessed my family we are all alive but it is bitter sweet sometimes. I probably wont go home for Thanksgiving due to the distance. It will be the first time I do not spend every holiday with my family. The two people I miss the most are Jacob and Rachel my nephew and niece who are six hours away. I am missing out on memories with them and they are already so grown up Jacob is six and Rachel is three. I remember when Jacob was four months old. I just keep on telling myself that this is part of God\'s plan. I think all that anyone can do is have a positive outlook and remember that this is only temporary. I know that our great city will rise again and those as devoted as myself will come back to it because after all it is like no other place.\r\n\r\n My other main concern is what will happen with school I am a junior so I have to be careful not to loose credit hours. I really love UNO so to go somewhere else almost seems wrong to me. I have always liked the rigorous classes that the school offers. I know if I graduate from UNO I can do well in my profession. The only thing that conflicts with my desire to stay at UNO is that I do not want to live in a city if all of my loved ones do not live there. I guess like everything else I am forced to see what happens. I am trying to do cross enrollment next semester so as long as UNO offers online I will be there. Geographically speaking I am stuck in Jacksonville until May that of course is when my lease ends. I just can not wait until things are like before the storm I hope they are even better than before. \r\n\r\n My experience has taken me from Texas all the way to Florida to places I never thought I would even see. My decision making skills are being challenged daily by myself. I have had to stand on my two feet by myself and hope that I am doing the best for myself which is scary. I have to trust that the bond I have with family and friends is strong enough that no distance can shake it. And I believe that UNO will rise again just like our great city and I hope it is the school that I have the privilege to graduate from. This experience has changed my whole life I will never know if things would have been better if they had stayed the same all I can do is have a bright outlook about the future and hope that it will be great.