2004

The first waves of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, which killed over 200,000 people, hit the shore.

I was in second grade when this happened. It was the first time I remember understanding that something bad had happened. I only vaguely remember 9/11. We stayed home from school and my mom seemed slower and slept a lot more. I didn't understand why, but even though I liked skipping school, this seemed different. And I guess I was too young to understand. I think it was from then on that I came to realize that not everything is happy and simple. That thought was like a little cloud following a little ways off. I couldn't see it exactly, but I knew it was there.

I first heard about the tsunami at school. Rountree Elementary was raising money to help rebuild, and they even interviewed my little sister about it. But, she didn't really understand either. Our school was on the news, and they played all the interview videos. Apparently, there was a kid who used to go to Roundtree who moved back before the tsunami hit. I'd never met him, but I'd seen him around and he seemed nice enough.

I remember worrying about these strangers so far away. I asked why a lot. "Why are there tsunamis if they kill people? Why do bad things happen? And why am I so sad?" I guess that's when I started to know that I couldn't control everything about the world. And I know I can't control everything, but that doesn't mean I'm okay with it.