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By Katie L., Age 17

I could barely see the boy for the deafening dim that echoed in the recently re-modeled gym. Toying with the red band the woman had snapped around my wrist, I did my best to keep my eyes on this stranger, ignoring everything else that had happened in the past few days. He seemed to be around my age, but without my contacts in I couldn’t be too sure. The boy was lying on his stomach on his cot, his head dropping over the end of the mattress his feet should’ve been on. Another boy – his brother, maybe – kneeled on the floor beside him; they were talking.

By Anna L.

Hi, my name is Anna L. I would like to tell you my story of how I survived Hurricane Katrina and how I overcame my worst fears. It was a regular day in New Orleans, when I heard about Hurricane Katrina. The night before, I spent the night at my best friend’s house and we were planning to go to Six Flags the next day. We woke up and started talking about the rides and how much fun we were going to have when Ivy’s mom came into the room and announced we wouldn’t be going.

By Noor A., Age 18

It was that time of year again: evacuate for a hurricane knowing that you would still come home to a perfect life…I wish. Every year when it is time to evacuate, no one in my family took it seriously. This was the case for Hurricane Katrina. I remember my mother sitting in our living room saying, "Oh we’ll be fine, it’s just another hurricane." I also, was in denial about the hurricane. Friday night was a regular night. I went to a football game and to get coffee with my friends.

By Julie R.

When most people hear the word "hurricane" they connect the word "loss" to it. Recently, when people hear the word Katrina, they connect it with total devastation. As with so many others in my home city of New Orleans, I did experience many losses. My home was flooded, forcing my family to evacuate for several weeks. My great-grandmother passed away during the hurricane as well.