Wondering What is Next

As I sit here and ponder about what is laid ahead for this trip, I am eager to get up and start making changes. Going to New Orleans is something that I will be looking forward to because this will be our chance as Bonner Community Scholars to shine, to help out, to put a smile on someone face, and most importantly to do what we do best, which is community service. Hurricane Katrina reminds us that we can’t control the events in our lives, but we can control how we’ll to respond to them—how we choose to act. People can make decisions to regain control, at a time when it when it feels like they’ve lost control. Those who have witnessed the devastation, and made donations to help survivors, understand this. There are so many kinds of traumatic experiences that can affect people, yet there aren’t nearly as many kinds of physical reactions. In fact, people respond the same way to a car backfiring as they do to a gunshot—the “fight-or-flight response.” It’s not until they begin thinking about their experience that they become aware of, and, begin to understand what’s happening to them. My prayer goes out to all of the families and relatives who had to be part of this experience. With time, New Orleans will regain its strength and God will put everything in place.