It was Monday, October 24, at 3:00 when the first tornado warning sent Gaffney High School into lock down. Students were ushered into the halls by concerned teachers, who instructed the students to place books on top of their heads. I remember thinking to myself, “here we go again another stupid tornado drill.” Little did I know that a powerful EF2 tornado was wreaking havoc my neighborhood. The drill was over at 3:25, but soon after we were dismissed from school, another warning locked down the school again. I managed to escape the chaos and ran for my car. I picked up my sister, who was waiting with my mom at work, and headed to my neighborhood, Oliver’s Farm. I couldn’t take the normal route to my house because right at the entry of Oliver’s Farm, there were trees and power lines down.  I thought this must have been the worst of the damage when I turned around and took the back road in. When I drove into Oliver’s Farm, I was horrified. Firetrucks, police officers, and big trucks lined the streets. Parts of roof, glass, and plywood covered yards. Insulation on the roads and sides of houses made it look like it had snowed. I slammed on brakes when I looked down the first street. My neighbor’s house was completely demolished. The roof was caved in, the right side of the house had been ripped open, their belongings were scattered across the yard, and the house was moved off of the foundation. I immediately thought of my house and my dog inside. I floored it to my street and found my house still intact.  Our trampoline was wrapped around the tree in our front yard, a window was busted, the yard was covered in roof tiles, and the grill flew from the front yard to the back. My dad and I spent the rest of that day working on our house and other people’s houses, too. Upon further inspection, an Allstate Insurance agent determined that our roof had been severely damaged, the siding on the left side of the house had been punctured in several locations, and the front door needed to be replaced. Looking back, our damages were minor compared to others in the neighborhood. Our family showed our gratitude by cleaning up around the neighborhood and helping the less fortunate.