There is More Happiness in Giving than there is in Receiving by Sabrina

There is More Happiness in Giving than there is in Receiving by Sabrina - May 2019 Scholarship Essay

Hurricane season is a time of year many dread, while others await this season without fear. As Floridians, my family and I have the same mindset; we do not get fearful at the thought of a hurricane. In spite of this, our attitude changed on October 10, 2018. The infamous category five Hurricane Michael made a huge impact, both emotionally and physically. I was speechless seeing all the destruction and people crying because they lost a loved one or their entire home. It is times like these where one could wish to have all the strength and money in the world to heal people’s suffering and restore their homes. As much as I would love to help everyone, my main priorities include: helping the students and teachers at schools and helping families in my community to ease their emotional pain.

First and foremost, the destruction that accompanied this natural disaster touched and ruined everything. Contributing financially to the benefit of students, teachers, and schools will be a small yet helpful solution to the expenses reconstruction requires. There was a month where school was not in session due to the School Board working to fix the schools damages. In view of extremely poor conditions, resuming a regular school schedule was delayed for three months. For example, Bay High School and Merritt Brown Middle School suffered the most loss in regards to their campuses. The Bay County School Board made the decision to join schools and do split schedules to help out these schools who didn’t have a campus to learn on. Schools operated from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and then 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Another thing to consider is the decrease in staff members and students at the schools. There has been a loss of 228 staff members due to attrition following the storm. There are 3,679 students that no longer attend Bay District Schools. The grant will be used to advance progress, so that schools could return to their own campuses. The students of Merritt Brown Middle School were placed at my school, Mosley High School even though we suffered from water intrusion and roof damage. Nevertheless, under those conditions we were more than happy to accommodate those students so they would not lose precious learning time. My actions will consist of giving financial assistance to displaced students in order to restore damaged school supplies. The staff members of these schools would be financially assisted too, which would be helpful during their stressful time.

Along with the stress of fixing schools damages, helping those in my hometown be at ease after all the emotional strain they have experienced would be my next priority. In my personal experience, home did not feel like home. The deprivation of running water and electricity seemed to last for eternity. These feelings really show how one takes it for granted when having these basic necessities. Staying in Lynn Haven throughout the storm brought me stress. My emotions arose upon coming outside of my aunt’s house and seeing for the first time a different Lynn Haven. Images from the first time seeing Hurricane Michael’s aftermath still flood my head. The whooshing sound caused by Hurricane Michael is still clear to this day. Finally being able to see my home brought tears to my eyes. All of this emotional trauma was experienced by a sixteen-year-old; what can be expected of an adult who has much more to worry about than me? This is why aiding people in recuperating emotionally is very important to me, this storm did not just affect buildings and houses, it really damaged people’s emotional state. I became aware of the trauma inflicted upon others through The Panama City News Herald; it warns that “residents living in the wake of Hurricane Michael may find themselves quick to anger, having nightmares or feeling anxious, or even depressed.” This is the kind of problem I will find a solution for. I will help these people get the needed treatment to feel better.

Nothing has been the same as it was before October 10, 2018 and it never will be. My hometown suffered tangible loss and emotional grief; it is not something that will improve from one night to the next day. However with the help of this $10,000 grant I will do everything in my power to improve the traumatic effects from Hurricane Michael. My parents have always taught me this important lesson: “There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.” Providing students with school supplies and getting help for those suffering from trauma and stress is my priority as I use my grant to the full. Nothing will be more fulfilling than helping the town I call home recuperate from total devastation.