Final Thoughts on NOLA

A few days have gone by since I returned from New Orleans and I've had some time to think about my overall experience in New Orleans. I feel like I saw two sides of New Orleans. When I went to the Ninth Ward, I saw entire blocks destroyed and left untouched. On countless homes, the X's left by rescue squads seemed like tattoos which signified the grim reality of what happened to this city five years ago. There was still so much work left to be done. I also saw the other side of New Orleans. I saw the famous French Quarter and heard plenty of amazing music. I saw the pride that the people of New Orleans have in their city (and football team) and their determination to bring the city back to what it was before the hurricane. There is this spirit present in New Orleans that is hard to describe. I saw it not only in the French Quarter, but also in the neighborhood we worked in for the week and all over the city, even in the most devastated areas. We can't forget about New Orleans and we cannot let this amazing city die. If we do, then a crucial part of American culture will die with it.

One of my favorite musical artists, Lil Wayne, is from New Orleans (and I got to visit his old neighborhood which was so cool) and he wrote a song about post-Katrina New Orleans called "Tie My Hands". It is a truly beautiful song and I want to end this post with an excerpt from it:

Born right here in the USA
But due to tragedy, looked on by the whole world as a refugee
So, accept my emotion, do not take it as an offensive gesture
It's just the epitome of my soul
And I must be me
We got spirit y'all
We got spirit
We got soul y'all
We got soul
They don't want us to see, But we already know