Harvard University

I was always terrified of weather. My fear was a storm itself, brewing off the coast of my mind and rushing in with terrible force; just the sight of thunderclouds or evacuation route signs set my teeth on edge. After Katrina— after evacuating, after seeing the carnage on the news from Memphis and Baton Rouge, after showering in friends’ gutted basements for their hot water—I thought the fear was gone. Then Gustav arrived. I was older, in a new school, with a boyfriend of almost a year, but I was petrified. I spent the sixteen-hour drive with my iPod on full volume against the strained sound…