Hurricane Harvey in Houston. Hurricane Irma in the USVI, Virgin Islands (VI), PR, Florida and the east coast of the USA. Category 4 Hurricane María decimating the USVI, the same VI as before and PR. The 7.1 earthquake in Mexico. Forrest fires up and down the Pacific North West. Between fundraisers, donation drop offs, prayers, volunteering time and efforts, and sending supplies to the affected areas, many people and emergency response agencies are getting overwhelmed. Not to mention the people of said countries inside the United States in distress because of communication and food outages amidst the destruction of their native cities and favorite stomping grounds.
Everyone is on edge this week and on top of that, the NFL players decided to make a stand or rather a kneel down to raise awareness for interracial violence and tensions between white supremacists, blacks, minorities and other oppressed communities. We couldn’t catch a break in September 2017. I genuinely feel for the future, as it looks extremely chaotic and unpredictable. Every week there is a new social outrage. There is so much going on that I fear taking a break from it all because there may not be anything good to come back to.
I’m one of the lucky ones whose family did not suffer or want through all these events. My mother was able to round-up everyone at my grandmas and remembered to connect the old timey phones that are powered by the landline. It didn’t take us days to know everyone was okay. We knew everyone was more than prepared for the hurricane season. One less thing to consider and preocuppy my adulting semi charmed kind of life. All this soon after my vacation ended. No rest for the wicked.
As a boricua in the mainland, this was my first set of destructive back to back natural events outside of the island; my first real chance to help my country from a distance and as an adult. Thanks to the outpouring support from all the “expats” like me, the effort on my part to cooperate seems a bit small and slow to matter even though it does. The inadequacy comes from not having a sense of dread or urgency since my crew is all accounted for, alive and kicking. I wish I could do more with my limited influence and resources. A part of me wishes to become a person that with a snap of the fingers could make things happen without a hitch. Being able to make the impossible, possible.
All I can do is donate, disseminate information, check facts and give hugs and encouragement to those on the front lines and with boots on ground. It is too early to say that my efforts are minuscule or won’t matter. Anyone feeling like me should consider that our part hasn’t come up yet. There will ve many chances to serve. Many opportunities to assist those in need. We need to stay strong and call upon our fortitude to put a brave face forward and lead the way when we are beckoned.
#PuertoRicoSeLevanta #HarveyStrong #HurricaneIrma #PrayforMexico #Wildfires
Mrs. Enginerd - Nerd Whisperer 