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One month before the big art show, two before the Senior Prom, three until graduation...

A few seconds of sheer terror took all of that away...

Anyone who has seen the news regarding the tornado that ripped through the Enterprise High School in Alabama, knows what I'm talking about. However,... no one knows as well as I, or the other innocent victims, do of just how terrifying it really was.

I was in Alabama on March 1, 2007. I was in the city of Enterprise...

I was in those very school hallways...

I heard the screams, the sound of things crashing, felt and heard the wind, and the chilling silence that followed.

I saw the damage, the destruction it left behind from the eyes of a 'victim' at first. I saw the caved in hallways, and fellow student's trapped beneath as we were forcefully herded out the door when it was safe. I saw the torn apart classrooms and glass covered floors. I saw many of my classmates bleeding heavily as they were quickly assisted outside by teachers and other students. I heard desperate shouts of names, and crying as we made our way out and towards the church building next door.

Everyone was just like me... Seconds ago, we were in the hallway, huddled against the wall for what we believed to be another 'lame' severe weather drill. All of our care free feelings were quickly stripped away from us in a matter of seconds.

I was lucky, I managed to get out of it without a scratch.

Everything happened so fast. All we had on our minds was the rest of the school year, breaks, and going off to college. I remember hoping that I would only be called a 'victim' of the storm. However, I became a 'survivor' when it was learned that eight people were found dead beneath some of the rubble. It leaves such a numbing feeling behind.

I realize that my house is just fine, it wasn't hit at all, but I still can't help feeling like that I've been left homeless in a way. So many memories were in those halls, and it's where I met my very best of friends. I should be in school right now also, but then the question of 'What school?' comes in.

Just before the tornado hit, when we went into the hallway, we thought we'd be fine and it was just going to be raining real hard for a while. I was even drawing in my sketch book for the first few minutes before putting it away once I had finished a new picture, chatting with one of my best friends who was sitting next to me. It was around that time that our Art teacher shouted for us to huddle close and pull our feet in, the lights went out, and the screaming started. It happened so fast, but it felt like an eternity and the aftermath was even worse.

The questions of 'What if?' and 'Why?' keep coming to mind. Like, what if I had been sitting in a different area of the school, or why did this happen now and to us?

Eight people were left dead. Countless others were injured, including three of my own friends. They lived though, and I'm thankful for that. However, I feel so incredibly empty now. Like pieces of the puzzle that made my life complete have become lost, and the picture is no longer whole.