Turning About

“A tornado just hit Flushing…everything is in ruins!” This was the face book post that popped out on my wall as I sat at the Flushing library quietly doing my homework. As usual I put on my headphones and commenced my ritual of listening to music while I did homework. Everyone seemed pretty excited when the rain started pouring down but I ignored it, I mean it is just rain. Five minutes into my homework and everyone’s cell phone started going off. People are certainly popular today I thought, I wondered why no one was calling me however. Feeling at an all time low I slowly waddled out the door of the library and noticed that the rain had stopped to a drizzle. I felt calm and serene much like how a person would feel if they were to fall asleep with the sun bathing on their faces. I got on the bus and thought to myself today is a nice day to just relax.

“Why is there a broken tree on top of that house? And why are all the trees uprooted and wires broken?” These were the words I thought as I stood on my block staring at my neighbor’s house. I quickly ran to my friend’s house that lived a block away to check if he was okay. He was outside also staring at a house that was demolished by a large tree. We both stood side by side dumbfounded as water slowly made its trek down our faces replacing what should have been a sweat drop. It was at that moment that I realized anything could happen and that I was not as safe as I originally had thought. Someone just took a needle and popped the balloon I was living in. All of a sudden I felt a shock of anxiety and realized that I take many things for granted: my life, my family, my friends, school, and just life in general. At that moment I swear that I felt the sun poke its eyes out for a split second during the night; a ray illuminated a path to enlightenment. I looked at the dilapidated house and noticed the smell of the moist air and the pointy hedgehog limbs of the tree. It could have been me caught in this tornado and anything can happen. Many people live in a state of false security believing that nothing can happen to their lives; however, that is not true. It is an agreed upon consensus that it is virtually impossible for New York to get hit by high velocity winds that is comparable to a tornado. And I had believed this. It is wrong to believe that nothing will happen because anything can happen. I stayed out that night to see the extent of the damage and learned something new with every block I traveled on.

When I got home I sat on the computer and felt like a new person. Many of my thoughts were new as I read different articles on line. Today I finally grew up and was content that I had finally made the transformation. Right before I decided to call it a night I saw on my wall “A tornado just hit Flushing…everything is in ruins!” I smiled and I said to myself at least today my life is finally not in ruins.