The other day I attended my first ever meet the artist event required by Macaulay Honors College. I was not all that exciting having to be in the city till 8 o'clock on a school related event but when I got there and the activity began, Thomas Neff's knowledge and experience was very intriguing. Thomas Neff is a well established photographer as well as a volunteer during the disastrous hurricane that hit New Orleans. The event revolved around the different images that Neff took on his trip to New Orleans and the story behind each photo. There was one thing he said specifically that caught my attention. He stated something along the line of, being a photographer he is automatically attracted to tragic events. So while he was in New Orleans he took photos of all the people he came across and engaged in conversations with them all to hear their story. He was so inclined to find out the situation they were in and the reason why these people were "holding out and hanging on" even after they had opportunity to leave or seek help elsewhere. While going through the photos he described them. He told us stories of some people who were "holding out" because they would not let anyone or anything mess with their house or because they were waiting for the pets to return. A number of these photos held a high regard with the photographer because some of the people passed away. There was one picture of a young man who requested to have his picture taken when his mother was there. Little did he know this would be the last photo he would ever take with his mother because she would soon die thereafter. I was touched by all the photos but alone they did not mean that much. The story behind them truly made me see what was really going on in New Orleans, like how so many people needed help but were left to help themselves. There was not much any of them could do alone after the houses had been destroyed and the hopes shattered. One picture that stood out to me was the photo of a woman standing out on her rooftop in her "wonder woman" outfit with the phrase "this is not america" painted beside her. It was a strong statement against the way the US was handling the situation because many people felt abandoned. In a country where we proclaim unity, New Orleans could have used much more assistance from the government and people from all over the United States.