Hurricane Katrina helped many of us appreciate the little things, kind of like recession did for many people. My family had never spent soooo much time together until Katrina. We spent 16 hours in a car on our way to Dallas, TX from Slidell, LA. In our efforts to run away we were able to learn so much about one another. We always thought we were close enough but it just showed us how things have changed. Mom works and dad works and kids get busy with school and friends. My family\'s home had 3 ft of water so it was not so bad. We finally got new furniture and cleaned out old clothes and of course the worst, the fridge. I felt sad for leaving when I watched the news and saw the way people were being treated. But my mom said if you were there it would only make it harder to rescue someone else. I got to experience a new school and new friends and was more than ready to come home to Louisiana. Since Katrina my family has fallen a little bit back into their own thing but holidays and birthdays are more family oriented than ever before thanks to Katrina. Through the bad I can say I got something valuable from this disaster. Unfortunately everyone was not as fortunate.\r\n\r\nGod Bless,\r\nKelsey R Jefferson \r\nUniversity of New Orleans\r\n