It amazes me when life can take you. This time two years ago I never imaged what would happen. It was on this day at 10a.m. I left my home not realizing that it would be a month before I would get to walk through it's doors again.

It doesn't feel like it happened to me two years ago. I still remember it like yesterday. Katrina destroyed New Orleans August 19, 2005. When the waters finally drained, it was as if the soul of the city went with them. Since then I've never felt at home in the only city I had ever known.

As I'm sitting here in my room at Butler I think about one of the alumni on the volleyball team. She was sitting in another room in Resco (maybe even the same one as me), and called me a few days after Katrina to ask me what address she can mail some cloths she wanted to give me. It was that phone call that I knew I picked a school with heart. Her kindness let me know that Butler must be a really special place to have someone as kind as her to help me out.

She had never met me, she wasn't even going to be playing with me next fall, but she knew I was part of the Butler family. Even though I wasn't in class with her, she still saw me as a bulldog in need.

That's one of the things I love about this campus. The spirit of kindness and generosity is everywhere. There is always someone who is willing to help someone else with anything. My professors are always understanding of my traveling schedule with volleyball, my friends and I study together for our exams, and the girl at Starbucks always puts a little extra whipped cream on my latte just because she knows it will make me smile.

The sense of community I get here has really helped me get through this day....

I'll never forget that little piece of me that was lost two years ago, but at the same time I'm so grateful for what I've found.