Imagine losing a loved one

I remember it vividly. My mom, dad and I were sitting on the couch in our family room with our flashlights. My mom and I were trying to entertain ourselves by shining our flashlights on the ceiling when all of a sudden something out of the corner of our eye caught our attention. "Get down!!!!!!!!" We both shouted. Boom! A loud, giant tree had fallen smack on the center of our garage. It was all so fast that none of us had time to process what was going on. No longer could we see our backyard through the windows because our view was blocked by the branches of the tree. My dad who was overly eager to see the damage first hand decided it would be a good idea to venture out and explore. My mom and I both pleaded for him not to leave, but he insisted. As he went outside I started screaming at my mom. "How dare you let dad go outside in this hurricane. He could die!" I could tell my mom was equally worried. As 3 minutes passed I was starting to get really concerned. My mom and I opened up the door and screamed at the top of our lungs "LEWIS?????!!!" "COME BACK!!" However, the wind was too strong and powerful for our voices to be heard. At this point I started to cry. Branches were falling left and right, it was way to dangerous for anyone to be outside. I started yelling at my mom. How could she let my dad out in this weather? Finally, my dad came running inside soaking wet. My mom and I both told my dad that he was not allowed to leave the house again. 

The time that my father was outside was one of the scariest experiences of my life. It made me think of the possibility of losing a loved one. While I am extremely lucky that nothing happened to my dad, 110 people died in the U.S. from Hurricane Sandy. Imagine losing your mother, father, a friend, a child, a grandmother, or a grandfather. Although this is extremely difficult to fathom, take this time and realize how lucky you are that the people you love are safe. Unfortunately this is not the case for everyone. While you may feel powerless and disconnected from these victims, you can actually make a difference. By donating to the link posted below, your money will go to the Red Cross and it will be put towards Hurricane Sandy relief. Everything little can go towards something huge. 

http://www.indiegogo.com/comm30sandy

#COMM30Sandy is an online class project for the Media & Society class at Lehigh University, taught by professor Jeremy Littau. You can donate to our campaign at this link, and for more information you can email Prof. Littau at jeremy.littau@lehigh.edu.