Think about where you were on August 24, 1992. While you may have been out relaxing in the hot summer sun, the people of Florida were being pummeled by one of the worst storms ever to hit the United States of America. Florida witnessed first hand just how devastating a category five hurricane can be. Hurricane Andrew will be remembered forever, not only by the people of Florida, but also by everyone in the United States – and most especially by those of us who experienced it first-hand.
             Summer was over and I had just started back at school. I was just starting kindergarten when Hurricane Andrew first appeared on the map. The hurricane was predicted to be one of the worst the United States had ever seen, and it was headed right for my hometown. My dad had grown up in Florida and had been through several hurricanes in his lifetime so he was not too concerned. My mother, on the other hand had never experienced a hurricane so she was a bit uneasy with the newscasts. My mom decided to listen to the news reports and went to the grocery store alongside thousands of other families trying to prepare themselves for the storm. At that point, there was not much left on the shelves, let alone bottled water. She grabbed what she could, most of what never would have made into our cupboards had it not been for the storm. She did however get a few canned goods, Gatorades, candles, and batteries for our hand-held radio. Although the house we lived in was fairly close to the bay and in the evacuation zone, my dad said we were going to stay and ride it out in our home. We were prepared for the worst.
             On the night Hurricane Andrew made landfall, my family, including me, my parents, my two-year old brother, and two dogs sought shelter in the workout room on the second floor of our house. There we sat and waited as the hurricane roared through my neighborhood. My brother slept through most of it but we all became a bit scared wh...