Quakes

Today there was a minor shake up in Southern California. A reported 5.8 magnitude centered in Chino Hills. In Los Angeles, depending on where people were located, it either felt strong, or very weak. I was at work, preparing to go to lunch when the quake hit. People panicked, scattered under the desks to cover their heads and screamed as the lights on the ceiling swayed back and forth. Our building is set on rollers, so when a minor earthquake hits, things won't fall because it is more like a rolling motion instead of a violent shake. Anyways, when the quake was happening and once it was over all I could do was laugh. I am not afraid of earthquakes, like many people are.


When I was 9, the Northridge earthquake struck in January, a magnitude 6.7 on the Richter scale. Everything in our house fell, gas pipes broke, our chimney cracked...everything broke during that quake. I was so terrified, that I packed all my toys, some juice boxes, my flashlight and anything else I could think of in my backpack. I wore that backpack everywhere, because I was so afraid of things happening. I wanted to be prepared and ready in case there was another one. There were several aftershocks after it happened, and I was out the door each time.


However, my fear of earthquakes subsided when my parents separated that same year. I blamed the earthquake. I thought that it rattled my family and shook up our house so much that it made my mother want to leave my father. Little did I know they were already fighting way before the quake came. As a matter of fact, my father was sleeping on the couch and I slept in the bed with my mother the night the quake came. But when you're 9, I was actually 10 when they separated, the quake was in January, and my birthday is in April. When you're 10, things that happen in life don't make much sense yet. I was so mad at the earthquake, and mad at myself for being afraid of it. All it did was tear my family apart.


From then on, I stopped being afraid of earthquakes. I face them with laughter, and no fear. I don't understand how people can be afraid of things that are out of their control. I was afraid of loosing my dad, and my mom. I was more afraid of loosing my toys, but I was only 10. I was afraid of loosing my dogs, because if they split then I thought all of my things would split to. Of course, that is what happened, but I was more afraid of the unknown, then I was the earthquake at that point. My life took a turn, and to this day I have not been able to keep the same father-daughter relationship with my dad that I had as a child. I can never look at my mother the same again, for not wanting to try to make things work out between them.


So here we are, 14 years later and I am no longer afraid of earthquakes. I got over all of those fears I had about my parents so why not get over a little tremble. Because my life was far more shaken up than any earthquake could do to me. And I honestly mean that...