The winds were powerful, battering trees and toppling light poles. It felt like a scene from a disgruntled movie set lacking direction. “What if this were a stage of some sort, and we were just actors playing our parts?" Dyami contemplated. However, that’s another story for another time; in this case, the aftermath of the hurricane was horrific. Hurricanes are natural phenomena that occur prominently in the southeastern coastal areas of the United States. They have become the norm for many who have lived here their entire lives. For Dyami, this was his entire existence, having lived in Third Ward, Houston, TX, all his life. This hurricane was the fifth or so he had experienced, and nothing compares to this one—except the fact that he had just lost his home, his place of solitude, the last place he called home. His grandmother passed down the house to him after his mother had passed away two years earlier. No words can describe his feelings. Dyami felt defeated; however, it also served as a reminder of his reality. Pieces of old photo frames, broken trinkets, and shards of china scattered in the rubble were enough to break the heart. His mind could hardly comprehend the thought of looking for a place to stay at this moment. This was truly a life-altering event. For the past few months, Dyami felt an immense urge to sell the house and move to start anew. This hurricane, you can say, sped the process in a way. Although selling to a reputable buyer was the ideal route, the thought of selling was too stressful to begin with. Well. Cats and dogs emerged from the shadows, and neighbors nearby shook their heads in desperation, which had become the norm in these last few minutes. He looked down and gathered his things—or what was left. Salvaging old photo albums and documents was his main priority. Trekking into the unknown had become a frightening reality. The sense of safety wrapped in Dyami’s family home was gone. The familiar essence of his grandparents and the memories that flowed through the carpet had vanished. Just then, memories of his mother began to surface in his mind. Three years ago, he received a life-changing phone call that could easily devastate any unsuspecting young adult just figuring out life. Cancer. Specifically, breast cancer. These words would become deeply etched in his mind forever. Just a few months later, he received another call. “I thought she had more time,” he said on the phone with his grandmother. When he arrived at the hospital, the cool air felt all too familiar. The unsettling quiet, pierced by the beeping of monitors in the background, signaled an impending end. In that moment, Dyami realized that time plays by its own rules and waits for no one to catch up. “Hey, they’re saying the George R. Brown Convention Center is open,” the neighbor across the street shouted out. “Why did I have to stick around for this mess? It wasn’t like me to stay during a catastrophic disaster. Granted, we did wait for Hurricane Ike in 2008. Is it selfish to wonder why such a drastic event impacted my belongings?” Dyami thought to himself. However, this time was marked by a different circumstance. Losing everything all at once was the final blow to the heart. He grabbed what was left of his possessions in a backpack he had packed before the catastrophe. It was unlike Dyami to be unprepared, regardless of the circumstances. Walking through the rubble felt like a fever dream—an overwhelming dream that could trigger an anxiety attack. How was anyone supposed to recover from such damage? The realization that the physical world around him was constantly changing was clear. The signs of catastrophe were like no other. Living in chaotic times, not just in the face of war or economic hardship, the thought of losing every bit of hope was the icing on the cake for a young soul like Dyami. Thinking back on his past memories of seeing his mother healthy and thriving months before her diagnosis was filling a small empty hole in his heart. Life had just begun. While he inherited his childhood home, landing a well-paying job was also fulfilling. During his mother’s radiation treatments, the joy he felt stemmed from her progress and the opportunities that came with his youth. This hurricane served as a simple reminder not to get too comfortable, for anyone can have everything taken away if they rely solely on their wits to get through. The cheat code to life is to never become too comfortable. Dyami began walking toward the convention center with a group of his neighbors. The floodwaters were still evident but had receded. Dyami’s journey through the flooded streets was overshadowed by a solemn gloom. The walk toward the convention center was marked by heavy footsteps in polluted waters. The crowded murmurs of his neighbors pressed down on his sanity were enough to make him snap. Overstimulation wasn’t even the word to describe the situation. There was a medium-sized line of people outside; emergency responders were present, directing people inside while aides handed out water and crackers. Overstimulation was the word. People. Lots of people. Older adults, young adults, and small children screamed and ran around. The smell of wet dogs was unbearable, but that was the least of Dyami’s struggles. It was only noon. What would happen when nightfall hit? Intense feelings swelled in his hands, sweating and forming tiny droplets. They began to roll down his face to combat the emptiness he felt. Dyami scanned the area meticulously, searching for a space to find refuge and breathe. Space was limited, but having a roof over one’s head was enough to alleviate the stress a person was going through at that time. For Dyami, it was time to think on a larger scale about how he would emerge from this situation. This hurricane may have sped up the process of packing his things and leaving Houston, but it created a heavy burden to watch everything he planned to bring along on his next journey get washed away. There was no need to hire movers to transport his belongings to wherever he chose, but the thought of not having a piece of home was daunting. Taking a moment to relax and meditate, Dyami opened his laptop. He plugged into a nearby outlet, turned on his hotspot, and logged into his computer; it was now game time to figure out the next steps. A few months earlier, he had been set on moving to Australia to devote himself to his art. In more words than none, he decided to fully pursue his passion for creating art and expressing his inner desires to the outside world. Dyami felt captive in this life, working a job he enjoyed only 50% of the time, primarily because the pay was enough to make him realize he wanted more from life. The easiest way for him to enter Australia was to land a job in his field, mechanical engineering, and push his way through to pursue his art full-time. The fear of not having a steady income to start anew was his primary concern as he envisioned his path filled with impending challenges. Looking through his previous job applications, he applied to positions that brought him the most dreaded word: Rejection! It had been this way for months, with rejection emails coming one after another, and a natural disaster wreaking havoc in the city was enough to make him want to crash out. Dyami was scrolling through a week’s worth of rejection emails and the hottest deals of the year when something caught his eye. Dyami’s intuition never failed him, especially when he was stressed. One headline stood out. “Job Offer: Junior Mechanical Engineer: Urgent Response” “A job offer!” Dyami thought to himself. The idea of receiving any good news baffled him. Out of the many jobs he had applied for, he had received further confirmation for interviews with only five companies. Three of them had sent rejection emails days after, and the other two were just a glimmer of hope in a stressful storm. ~ Three months later~ The sound of keys unlocking the door to a hotel room. It had been three months, and the thought of trying to find a permanent residence was draining. However, Dyami finally secured a place to reside in Auckland, New Zealand. Although he was not in Australia as he had previously hoped, he was starting a brand new chapter. What were the odds his life would turn out the way it did? A college graduate with an extensive background, a long list of creative hobbies, a great social network, and a positive outlook for what was to come in the near future had been washed away in the devastating floods of terror in Houston. As he secured the last of his belongings, which primarily included clothes, important documents, and his laptop, he closed the hotel room door behind him and returned his hotel key to the assistant at the desk. This moment marked the start of his new beginning. Dyami began to familiarize himself with the layout of Auckland and walked toward a bus stop. While waiting for the next bus to arrive, he checked his phone for nearby stores where he could pick up a few items. The sound of air releasing from the city bus prompted Dyami to step aboard. The warmth of the people around him on the bus reminded him of his neighbors and family back home in Texas. The feeling that everything was finally going right in his life made him feel invincible. Dyami got off at an art supply store along the way to his new home. Stepping into the store brought him a sense of peace and tranquility as he finally had the opportunity to pick up some art supplies. As he searched for the right canvas, Dyami smiled, reflecting on his journey to his new home.