Letter To Sandy: Jersey Strong...Never Quit Helping

Hurricane Sandy                                                      By: Jessica Schirripa

In a quest to make a list of the top ten most newsworthy stories of 2012, I found myself in the midst of undoubtedly the number one.
A piece of editorial that was meant to be pithy, quirky, and humorous, left my thoughts consumed with the complete opposite.

I have read horrible posts and status updates of people searching for humor and relief in the fact that the Jersey Shore has now been destroyed. Believe me I get it, the image we project, the reputation of our state..., but in all honesty, I have never in my lifetime seen or known more devastation and have felt more humbled and proud.

Say what you want about the Jersey Shore, I have probably said it myself in passing, but it is the heart and soul of New Jersey. We New Jerseyans know a place much different than you. A history like no other, filled with a culture that goes beyond an MTV reality show. It is home. It is family. It is art and alive with music and people that have changed the world. It has been the safe haven to millions seeking moments of beauty, laughter, and simplicity for their families.

I can’t imagine anyone being able to relate to this unless you have experienced the loss yourself. The same way the generation before us speaks of an era that no longer exists, we now have a chapter in our lives closed of iconic memories that we will never be able to recreate but we will always carry with us.

Yes, we will rebuild. Yes, we are strong.
And yes, I have seen a sense of community that I myself thought had been lost in politics, greed, and a selfish human nature.
Sometimes it takes this destruction to allow us to see all we have been doing wrong, and how we need to move forward and do right by each other.
True compassion for one another is now our new beginning.

People have experienced a detrimental loss of loved ones, businesses, homes, every sentimental belonging, memory, blood, sweat, and tear… the core of what makes a person who they are.
Gone.
A human is incapable of fully comprehending this loss, or even the thought that it could happen to them or to someone close enough to them for it to even make any sort of sense in their mind. After all, "we are invincible".

We have seen how weak we can actually be. We have seen our bottom, and the scary part was it did not take much at all. No power, no heat, no gas, no food, no light, no contacts, and we crumbled.

Now we see a strength buried within us that we never needed to exercise before.
The beauty lies in the fact that we did find the courage to be there for one another.
It was dormant inside of us all.
Behind our entertainment driven obsessions, status symbols, sports infatuations, political stand points, etc, what awoke inside us was an actual beating heart.
One pure moment of realization hit and our actual needs were back in focus and the true meanings became meaningful once again.
No matter what economic discrimination has been taking place in our country, whether it was your million dollar waterfront property that has been demolished, you now became no different than the average struggling family who lost everything as well.

Now we look to leadership to move forward. We look at the faces to the right and left of us, our neighbors, friends, and family, and we weep for our losses, but more importantly, we do what New Jersey does…We give a big f--- you! We come together in fear, anger, and love, and we fist pump life back into our garden state.

We will stay warm, warm with thoughts and prayers of those who reach out helping hands and keep us in their hearts. We will seek light, the light that will allow us to rebuild homes for our neighbors, and beautiful memories for our children to inherit one day.  And we will always be full. Full of love for our people, our history, and our culture.

JERSEY STRONG

I do not discredit or take away any of the tragedy that has been just as destructive to our beloved New Yorkers. We are the same. We feel the same heartache for those affected. We share the out pour of love and generosity and know that we will all bounce back with the same gusto and pride. <3