Hurricane Season

 

It's been a rough couple months for Florida. My parents live in Jacksonville Beach, and in the last month have weathered 2 hurricanes. Jacksonville was one of the luckier areas in Florida, having dodged the brunt of both hurricanes. Areas farther south were unrecognizable after the hurricane damage. 

Jacksonville didn't suffer much damage, but the evidence of the powerful waves and winds are unmistakeable on the beach. The beach I knew before the hurricanes looks nothing like it does now.

Believe it or not, the cliff in the picture above that drops of steeply used to be a dune that gradually sloped down for easy walking access.

Both the beach itself and the manmade structures atop it revealed the raw strength and power of nature.

When we think of "nature," and even when we talk about it in class, I naturally picture placid lakes, untouched forests, and peaceful landscapes. These all seem calm and resting. Like humanity and civilization is the chaos and nature is the peaceful.

Often I forget that the ferocious winds and power of hurricanes are just as natural as the unmoving mountains.

I was at TCU during both of these hurricanes that Jacksonville endured, but I was in New Jersey during Hurricane Sandy and can remember that clearly. My family lost power for almost 2 weeks. We were freezing without heat, and couldn't even flush our toilets.

Sometimes it takes harsh reminder like a hurricane to remind us that we can control and domesticate a lot, but at the end of the day we are still at the mercy of the Earth in many ways.

I remember standing on our front porch and feeling the power of the wind, strong enough to push me back. Nature is beautiful, but it's not safe. It's powerful and untamed.