STA Strong by Maria

STA Strong by Maria - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

In the wake of hurricane Matthew, hundreds of homes in St. Augustine stood destroyed, flooded with almost four feet of water; a wasteland of soggy carpets and water-stained walls. The school musical, scheduled to be performed the same weekend as the storm, was moved to the next weekend. My world appeared little changed, as my own house was one of the lucky ones: built on high ground, away from the dangers of flooding. We were lucky to get the next spot on the auditorium schedule, and began preparation for opening night.
In the huddle the cast and crew formed on opening night, our director made an announcement about the following performances. In light of the destruction, the musical was to lower the cost of a ticket to five dollars. This change would mean many families who were required to gut their homes would have a low cost moment of fantasy; a way to forget the reality of what they were facing in their lives.
Musical theatre has always been my passion, and I love changing lives through the stories I have told onstage. The night of the Hurricane Matthew Relief Performance, I looked into an audience of tired mothers and fathers and children who had to empty their ruined rooms onto the side of the road. I could see the bliss in their eyes as they were allowed to sink into a silly story, and disappear into a world of different problems, all of which ended with a song.
It was the way the crowd reacted at the finale that sparked a need to give back even more. I needed to lend what I could to help the recovery effort. After the show was closed and the set was cleaned up, I started looking for possible ways to help my community. I found out that my CrossFit gym was getting together to lend themselves as free labor, to gut houses and cart the rubble to the side of the road so that homeowners wouldn’t need to hire anyone.
At eleven in the morning, a group of thirty gathered at the house of one of our members, armed with hammers and brooms and trash bags. We began gutting the house to the studs, and sweeping the dust into bags before hauling it all to the road. We finished one house in less than five hours, and moved around the neighborhood advertising free labor. As we walked around, we saw full furniture sets warped from water, broken dishes, mattresses, and clothing, all piled as close to the street as possible. In a matter of a few hours we had cleared out ten houses.
While what we could do seemed like so little, I know the road to recovery was quickened by my efforts and the efforts of the people around me. Thanks to my onstage experience that allowed me to see the effects of the storm, I was able to take action to better my community, becoming a part of the phrase that spearheaded the recovery effort in St. Augustine: “STA Strong”.