New Orleans, a place defined by the constricting water
around it. Whether basking in the sunlight on the searing deck of a plastic
white boat, looking down into the turbid, brown lake water, or lounging on a
bench after a long day of walking around the old streets, seeing buildings older
than the country we live in and watching new ships on a nearly ancient river, or
walking outside in what feels like ninety-nine percent humidity, just waiting
for the afternoon rain to start and that slightly grassy smell that follows, you
know that this water in New Orleans restricts, surrounds, engulfs, and cleans.
Water is everywhere in New Orleans and New Orleans seems more New Orleans-y
when the water is around. It has developed the city into the unique shape it is
and helps us to understand that there are things in the world much more
powerful than ourselves. Water can be a harsh reminder to those of New Orleans
that not everything is under our control, yet we still love it for the ways it
makes our city unique.
Bizzy, age 17
