Last week I was able to update the people who have been reading these articles up on how my situation was going as I finally made my way back onto the campus of Lamar University. The first week back allowed me at least some sense of routine, and served as a lovely vacation away from the wreckage of my home. Unfortunately, the repairs will last a minimum of several more weeks, and classes seem to be my only escape.

The second week back at Lamar University was definitely different than the first. Classes and even the interactions within those classes began to shift their focus from Hurricane Harvey and the recovery. For the most part, people had begun to move forward with their lives. Conversations no longer centered on if someone had gotten water inside their home, but instead if there was any homework due for class. The sense of normalcy that accompanied these exchanges was refreshing, and showed me that, as a collective group, the university was healing.

On my own personal front, the week was quite good as I was able to get back into my workflow. I spent time shooting footage for two separate video projects, and even began editing one of those projects. I also had the pleasure of entering the pre-production stages on a commercial for Lamar University’s athletics department. All of the aforementioned projects were already supposed to have been set in motion, but Hurricane Harvey pushed their respective timetables weeks back.

There were also some positive aspects about my home and the repairs that have to take place. After weeks of working, my family was finally able to remove all of the damaged flooring, and cut out most of the drywall from our home. However, I learned that we would also have to remove all of our lower kitchen cabinets, bathroom cabinets, kitchen countertops, bathroom countertops and the pantry. Unfortunately, this will add several more weeks to the repairs. A slight bright spot is that my mother will finally get the countertops she always wanted.

Also, one evening last week I had the pleasure of meeting my neighbor from across the street for the first time. He had moved in at least a year ago, and we just never seemed to cross paths. I had arrived at my house to get some more repairs done, and he was talking with my father explaining that he had been running off people who were attempting to steal items from our home. A family friend arrived shortly thereafter, and informed us that his home had also been destroyed by the floodwaters. We all shared our respective evacuations stories, and a plethora of laughs, smiles and maybe even a tear or two.

Heading forward into next week I sense my world continuing to regain a sense of normalcy. It will be four weeks since I evacuated from my home, and embarked on this journey of recovery. I am thoroughly hopeful that in the end all of this pain will lead to something greater.

The Dispatch from Lamar will be a weekly feature in The Hawk.