The Perfect Storm.

So I hadn't heard about Hurricane Sandy until this morning when it was like, you know, SLEETING outside on my way to class. I don't know HOW I didn't know this, but I seriously had NO IDEA that a massive tropical storm was approaching the East Coast until it was just about to strike. Many of my friends have been talking about it on Facebook whether they're wishing their family, friends, and acquaintances safety, posting pictures or news articles about the storm's intensity and damage done already, or they're LIVING on the East Coast and are informing their friends and family through social media that they're still safe and well. I honestly don't even remember the last time a storm this bad blew threw the area..

The one bad thing about social media and this storm is that everyone is posting and re-posting INCORRECT information, data, or photos from the storm. I saw this picture and thought it was wicked cool for the photographer to capture it at the exact moment, but at further inspection I realized it was photoshopped.

That's pretty darn cool, isn't it? Too bad the Statue of Liberty and the surrounding New York area was just photoshopped on to another image which I'm pretty sure came straight out of a movie. Here's a link to some other phony photos that you've probably seen thrown around the internet: Hurricane Sandy Strikes! (Except not really)

Despite all the craziness going on with what is and isn't true, it does remind me how important it is to be prepared. Even though we Michiganders live far from the coast, we can still feel the effects of the storms hundreds of miles away. Not to mention some of the crazy winter storms we can get that can knock out power for days. My mom told me the best way to deal with the storm is to be prepared both mentally and physically. Keep nonperishable food on stock, a first-aid kid, extra and fully charged batteries, an abundance of blankets and pillows in case the power and heat are to go out, a radio, phone chargers that don't require an outlet (if you can), and anything else that can keep you occupied if you're stuck inside for a long time. Even though, I've never experienced a storm as bad as Sandy, it's always important to be prepared for the worst!