What would you do if you lost it all?
By DoriLentrich
@DoriLentrich (1016)
United States
April 29, 2011 1:37pm CST
The southern United States has just gone through the worst series of storms in quite a while. Some people have lost everything, while a huge number have suffered property damage of varying degrees of severity.
It is a reminder of how quickly everything can change. What would you do if your home was one of the ones that doesn't exist anymore? How would you start over?
1 person likes this
8 responses
@peavey (16936)
• United States
29 Apr 11
You do what you have to do. Almost everyone would have to accept help, either from government or private charity, or from friends and family for awhile, but then you'd have to work and find a way to have a home again, whether it was renting or buying. You might look at things differently after losing everything.
For me, I would still have a little in savings, so I would tap into that, buy a laptop and find a free wireless connection, then I'd go to work and make as much as I could (writing) until I could find a place to live. Food is the most important after that, then basic furnishings like a table and chairs and a bed, and then luxuries, including couches, end tables and so on, and then TVs and electronic gadgets. It would be a long road, but in a way, it would be fun to see what I could do.
1 person likes this
@peavey (16936)
• United States
6 May 11
Things don't really mean that much to me any more, anyway. If I was staying with someone else, the chances are that they would be out of the immediate disaster area, so wifi would be easier to find. If it wasn't, I'd have to go find it. That would be my lifeline.
@DoriLentrich (1016)
• United States
6 May 11
You definitely have a plan. Finding wifi in the disaster areas might be a neat trick, though. You'd probably have to relocate to an untouched area for a while. But, you'd also have to deal with what remained of your home. Still, you've got good ideas about moving forward.
I do think a lot of people look at things differently. They find that they're not as attached to the things anymore. Its amazing what out of sight, out of mind can do for a person.
@sender621 (14893)
• United States
30 Apr 11
I can not even fathom the thought of losing everything that I have in this world. it would be devastating and discouraging to say the least. Findind the courage topick up and continue on woule be the hardest thing ever.
1 person likes this
@DoriLentrich (1016)
• United States
6 May 11
Stuff is stuff. It's not people (but people did die). How would you get past the sadness and move on? Just put square your shoulders and march on through life?
I don't have the answers, but I think when we say "It's just stuff," we minimize people's pain. These are the things they have worked hard for and in the span of minutes it's all taken away from them. You're right, people are much more important, but rebuilding takes its toll on people.
@hardworkinggurl (37063)
• United States
29 Apr 11
Wow this is sad and no advance prepping really. I would be really sad and do my best to try and reconstruct. The first thing I would do is count my blessings if it is only loss of property and not of family.
@DoriLentrich (1016)
• United States
6 May 11
That's a great sentiment. Almost everyone I've heard has said just that, they were grateful that their loved ones were safe and the rest of it would be taken care of. Now, a lot of those people are religious. I wonder if that affects how people react to situations like this.
Reconstructing is hard, but it has to be done. If you leave everything, matters only get worse.
@misc11 (384)
• United States
29 Apr 11
I wouldn't care so much about the home as I would if I lost my pictures and all my memories from my past that can't be rebuilt. I can't imagine what these people are going through. I would try to focus on the future and not dwell on it because their houses and memories are gone, and they cannot be replaced. What is done is done and they can only move forward. I would start finding another house right away to get back on my feet and try to get back to a normal life as soon as possible. I would try to still go to work if this was possible and just make life as normal as I could for my family. I do believe in insurance and so hopefully this would come through quickly so we could buy another house quickly.
@DoriLentrich (1016)
• United States
6 May 11
Focusing on the future is good advice. Unfortunately, in a lot of these ravaged areas, there are no houses to buy and no jobs to go to. Insurance, while good, doesn't always provide enough money to rebuild or buy a new house.
While the tangible mementos of the memories are gone, we still carry them in our hearts and minds, so that is some consolation. Sometimes we forget that the pictures and the mementos are there to help us remember, not the memory itself.
Still, it's devastating to wake up one morning and realize that everything you'd accumulated in this life was stripped away in less than an hour.
@triondanswers (15)
• United States
29 Apr 11
just think of indonesia 2004 and japan 2011 and you will be glad it was not that bad after all but yeah, losing so much really something that breaks people down
1 person likes this
@DoriLentrich (1016)
• United States
6 May 11
You're right, from a broad perspective it's not as bad. But to the people living through it, it's horrible. Telling people, "Well, it could be worse," doesn't really help them to deal with the bad they're dealing with. It could always be worse, but that's not how you move forward and try to recreate what's gone.
@petersum (4522)
• United States
29 Apr 11
Each time I see a tornado on the television, I end up thinking, "These people want their homes destroyed!" Every time there are mobile homes and flimsy wooden buildings being torn up. Is America really that poor? Why can't they build a decent house out of reinforced concrete or bricks? Are they just waiting for the opportunity to say, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore." I'm making a joke, because in reality it is a joke! These people would be better off living in mud huts! Americans must learn to build houses properly!
@Delicious36 (190)
• Netherlands
29 Apr 11
Just like a new project how you start something. You start building one. Its just stuff and stuff you can always get another time. And for the pictures you had.....the memories are still in your head and heart is it not. Its hard maybe to say but what else can you do and there is no need to break your head about it because you can not do anything about it. yeah ofcourse you have your moment of sadnes but this wil go away when you started a new life.
@DoriLentrich (1016)
• United States
6 May 11
That is very well put. As long as all you have lost is material, then you need to move on as best you can. If you lost people, that's another story entirely. Very well said.
