The first day of school my senior year proved to be extra special, as a huge straight line storm hit my town in Illinois. I had just gotten home after having lunch with my boyfriend, Tyler, and his family. Tyler and his little brother, Zack stayed at my house to hang out and watch movies. We had just turned on our movie, when I noticed it had gotten dark. We all ran to a window excited; we are all storm lovers. We soon realized this was no ordinary storm. I ran to my computer and searched through my bookmarks for my radar website and was excited to see this was a huge storm and what we were seeing at that second wasn't even the beginning of the worst of it. We all ran out onto my porch and watched the rest of Mother Nature's wrath. It was so amazing. The rain was coming down so fast that it looked like a sheet of gray in front of us. There was lightning everywhere and the wind was so strong it was almost pushing us up against the house. We watched as my neighbors' trees flew apart. I think it was the most beautiful storm I have ever witnessed. I felt so at peace with the storm. I thank my parents for not raising me with a fear but a love for a good storm. The aftermath is the only thing that scared me. I hate seeing all that destruction. It hurts to see all the trees torn up like that; missing half of their limbs and green leaves everywhere. Later that night, I was laying in bed listening to the radio. They let people call in and tell them about their experiences and a lot of people said they found it comforting to know that there were other people with out power. I also heard a lot of nurses and safety people call in and tell the public how to stay safe and keep healthy in a time of crisis. I think the radio did a great job keeping everyone informed. I'm always complaining about all the wimpy storms we get here in Illinois, and after this storm, I don't think I'll ever complain again.