Jessyca Butler - New York, NY
Jean Gordon Elementary School had to be the most diverse school I attended, aside from college. It was a melting pot and I met some lifelong friends there. Jessyca is one of those—from elementary school, to middle school, to high school, and now New York City. Following Katrina, Jessyca moved back to New Orleans and I was in Chicago, but we had a shared interest in wanting to move to New York City to pursue our dreams. Now a decade later, we’re nearly neighbors and she’s my go to New Orleans partner-in-crime. Whether it’s a Saints game viewing or a Soul Rebels concert at Brooklyn Bowl, we’re usually there together.
Describe your Hurricane Katrina experience. What do you remember?
It's funny you asked what I remember because at times it all seems faint and fuzzy. Sometimes it feels it was just a bad dream—that it never really happened.
I recall numerous times trying to put the timeline together of the days leading up to Katrina and the weeks following. I'm like, “Wait, did we stay in Houston 3 days or a week? How long was I out of school again?” The sequence of events is really jumbled because it all happened at once and so quickly. I remember a lot, so I don't know how deep to go here. Most of my family and I had evacuated a day or two before hit the city, so I wasn't physically there when Katrina hit.
A few days prior, my best friend, Rachel, and I had gotten our hair done that Saturday morning for St. Aug's Jamboree. Outfit laid on the bed. We were ready. But I wouldn't be going to the Jamboree that night because we had to evacuate for the hurricane. We drove to Lafayette and stayed overnight. The next day we arrived in Houston. Once we checked in to the hotel, you could tell by the aimless and almost mindless pacing in the lobby, the other people were from New Orleans. All the adults were glued to the TV watching image after shocking image of what was happening in our city. You know how sometimes you're looking at something but don't really see it? That's kinda how it was. Your mind couldn't digest what it was seeing, what had happened, or what was to come. Cell phone towers were down in New Orleans so you couldn’t dial out or receive calls. No one could reach my grandfather and other family members who rode out the storm. My grandfather and his brother had to be rescued from my aunt's roof. I could literally go on for another five minutes, but what I remember most is prayer and family.
How did you feel about New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina as a young person growing up there?
I realize now that growing up in New Orleans isn't like growing up anywhere else. I wouldn't ever want to be from anywhere else in the world. I loved New Orleans then and I love it now, despite its flaws and challenges.
Where are you now?
New York City.
How, if at all, have your feelings about New Orleans changed?
I think my love for New Orleans only grows stronger with time. You don't miss what you have until it's gone, right? Since I live away, I miss it constantly—the food, the people, the culture, the spirit of it. No matter how long I live away (and I've been in NYC for over three years now), if someone asks me where I'm from, I will ALWAYS respond, "New Orleans." I will always love my city. In the same breath, it frustrates me that so many talented young people have to leave the place they love to pursue better education, resources, and opportunities.
Has Katrina affected you positively or negatively? Both?
You'll always wonder what life would have been like had Katrina never happened. But the months post Katrina were some of the most memorable times of my life. To go from being an only child to living with 11 other people in the same household—I cherish those moments and wouldn't trade them for anything. Everyone's Katrina story is different and I may have been one of the "lucky ones." Although I lost my childhood home and almost all of my possessions, I still had my family. We thankfully didn't lose anyone to the storm.
The most annoying thing about it all is that once someone finds out you're from New Orleans, the first thing they ask about is Katrina, even 10 years later.
Describe New Orleans in one word.
Magical.
