Wind, conversation, love, family and struggle. These are the most prominent words that we have heard these days. Days that have been passing by too slowly and yet very quickly at the same time. I think it’s safe to say that none of us in the island really knew what we were going to live through -and still are living through- these days. “The lucky ones”, some people would call us when Irma came by, however Maria made us realize that being untouchable is never truly so. We realized how other places struggle to survive, and we learned that we could also live through the same thing. In my case, I still have to figure out all the feelings that have come by or rather surfaced from deep within myself. However, one thing that really stuck with me was that feeling of longing for the best for not just the people you care about and know about, but also for the ones you don’t know. I have noticed that it is not just me who feels that way but many of other puertorricans as well. The need to help and support completely unknown people. Our trust in each other has grown. I witnessed this myself when a stranger in a pizzeria was kind enough to lend my brother his phone in order for us to communicate with my family in Florida and let them know we were okay after nearly two weeks of not being able to do so. Another good example was on the radio. We saw how it turned into a community place; really the only place where people could turn to for communication. Thousands of people were calling in to reach out and announce what situation their family was in along with other things. It is actions like these that shined a little bit of light and hope for our society while we were living through terrible circumstances brought in by Hurricane Maria. While we may not truly be as untouchable or as lucky as people would previously say, I think that we do have something that you don’t always see; unity and hope.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Inter SG chapter.