the city.

For Thanksgiving, my family and I typically journey to the Mississippi Delta, which is where my father grew up and where many of his immediate relatives still remain. Last year, though, my mom celebrated a big birthday - 60! - and she wanted to have a proper birthday bash during a week that she knew both of her college-aged daughters could make it home. Instead of traveling to the Delta, I packed my bags the Sunday before Thanksgiving and drove the six boring - but easy - hours to the Mississippi Gulf Coast, my home.

We were going to go to New Orleans for my mom’s birthday, something I found out right before I left for the Coast. As seasoned citizens of Hancock County, Mississippi, which borders St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana and is approximately a 45-minute drive to New Orleans, my family and I had been taking trips to the city my entire life. New Orleans is a cultural mecca with such a vibrant history that can still be seen today through its food, buildings, music, transportation, and people. If you’ve ever been to New Orleans, you know that there’s something addictive about the lively jazz bands playing on the streets of the French Quarter, the bright red cable cars bustling visitors and locals across the city, the architecturally-stunning homes lining St. Charles Avenue, and - of course - the rich smells of gumbo, jambalaya, étouffée, and red beans and rice cooking in restaurants from Chalmette to Metairie. New Orleans locals are always ready to lend a helping hand - they are kind-hearted folks who have a deep understanding of their home city and will try to protect and defend it against anything.

In November 2005, my family and I traveled to New York City for my mom’s job. We were watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade in-person - which was super awesome to see - and my dad started chatting to a local man standing next to us. Eventually, the man asked where we were from; whenever we travel to big cities, my dad will usually answer that question with “New Orleans” since few people know where Diamondhead, Mississippi is. When my dad told the man that we were from New Orleans - I remember this clear as day - the man said, “Oh, okay, nice!”

Then, the look of realization washed over his face, and he said, “Oh…wait.”

It’s difficult to talk about New Orleans without mentioning Hurricane Katrina, a devastating Category 3 hurricane that completely destroyed the city in August 2005. I remember Hurricane Katrina quite well - the storm made landfall about 10 minutes from my home on the Coast, so we were among the thousands of people placed under a mandatory evacuation. My hometown as well as the entire Coast experienced flooding, but it was nothing compared to what happened to New Orleans - due to a faulty levee, the city was completely swallowed by water, killing hundreds and displacing thousands more from their homes. Economically, it was a nightmare situation - businesses were ruined and shut down for good, and it took years for New Orleans to get to a place of stability. Even today, the city is still recovering from the effects of Katrina nearly 20 years after she made her landfall in the area. It has been only recently - literally within the past two years - that the Coast has gotten to a point that’s even comparable to pre-Katrina times.

Resilience is a common trait among native New Orleanians and Mississippi Gulf Coasters. Going through a life-changing event brings people together in an inspirational way. Both New Orleans and Gulf Coast citizens aided in humanitarian and medical efforts, even though they were the victims of the crisis at hand. They rebuilt homes, restaurants, and stores; they made sure neighbors had food and water; they took care of displaced strangers as if these people were their own family. I was a little girl, but I remember feeling a huge sense of pride seeing New Orleans and Gulf Coast residents - my people - step up to the challenge of rebuilding their lives, ready to face whatever obstacles laid in the way, and ready to do it with the help of neighbors, friends, and family.

To me, this is home. Home is more than a tangible location - it’s a feeling you get, an experience that you remember and all of the emotions that come with remembering that experience. I see home - I feel home - every time I go to the water on the Coast and every time the skyline of New Orleans pops into view when crossing over the bridge into the city.

All images in the post shot with Canon Rebel T6 and edited with Adobe Photoshop Express.