Last Thursday September 8, 2011 the San Diego country experienced a blackout. It was during volleyball practice when it happened to me. We were scrimmaging during the last hour and a half of practice when the gym lights went off. A few moments later just six back up lights turned on. We spent the rest of practice in a dim lit gym. After practice, I went to wait for the late bus. After realizing that it would be late, due to the non-functioning stop lights, I called my dad to pick me up. Being home was interesting. I took a shower in the dark using a wind-up flashlight that faded every minute, so I had to rush. I couldn't open the fridge or freezer unless we really needed to because my dad didn't want the food to get warm. Because it was so dark, my family stayed in the kitchen because it was the most lit room in the house. The electricity eventually came back sometime early in the morning.

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Experiencing this blackout really opened everyone's eyes. It showed how much we rely on electricity. We depended on it to cook/preserve food, complete homework online, as a light source, and much more! Athough this surely limited everyone's ususal home activities, many of us spent more time closer to our families. It forced some of us to stay near and share the light emitted from our flashlights. This experience also revealed how unprepared a lot of us were. Local stores like Target and Wal Mart were stripped bare of canned foods, bottled water, batteries, and flashlights. Yes, this was a major set back for some of us. However, most families bonded, and it scared us enough to be more prepared for next time.