On August 25, Hurricane Harvey came barreling into Texas coast lines. 130 MPH winds caused billions of dollars in damage and many families’ homes were destroyed. Unaware of her future in Austin, senior Janna Beardsley was focused on her friends and family staying safe during the storm.

The day before the biggest surge of the hurricane hit, Beardsley evacuated to Austin, where it remained safer than her neighborhood in Aransas Pass.

“My dad and brother are the ones that moved all our stuff up here a couple of days after the hurricane,” Beardsley said.

She later found out that her home was beyond repair, and she would become a permanent resident in Austin.

“Half of the roof was caved in, and my dad didn’t want to spend the money to fix it, so we moved up here,” Beardsley said.

After living with a family friend Tree Glowka for a short time, Beardsley and her father moved in across the street from Glowka.

“We met them about five years ago,” Glowka said. “And our families became friends right away.”

From the beginning, there were many unfamiliar changes that Beardsley had to adjust just to in her neighborhood alone.

“I used to live in the country, and now I’m in the suburbs, so that’s pretty cool,” Beardsley said. “And I like my neighborhood. There’s a bunch of old people everywhere and it’s so nice.”

Beardsley’s house was in much worse shape than the houses of her friends in Aransas Pass, so she was the only one to leave.

“Leaving my friends back in Aransas Pass, that was the worst part,” Beardsley said. “They’re all staying, so it’s hard that none of them are moving.”

Beardsley’s closest friend, Vincent Jimenez, talks about the damage done to Aransas Pass High School, Beardsley’s former school.

“The damage was significant,” Jimenez said. “But not as bad as our middle school or the schools in Rockport.”

Once the school finally reopened, the students and faculty had to quickly adapt to the altered schooling conditions.

“It took our school six weeks to open,” Jimenez said. “And they are shortening our breaks and taking away days that we would normally have off. Our classes are strangely 30 seconds or so longer.”

In addition to the new schedule, APHS has taken in middle school students.

“Eighth graders are attending the high school currently because the middle school hasn’t reopened,” Jimenez said.

The school has also found ways to aid students who lost their school belongings continue with their education.

“Our school gathered donations from around the country as a way to help students with school supplies,” Jimenez said. “They even bought some of the dual credit students their college books.”

The storm left lasting effects on the entire coastal community as well as the schools.

“The most difficult thing is grasping how much Hurricane Harvey actually destroyed the coastal bend,” Jimenez said. “Just taking in the amount of catastrophe and loss that people have experienced is heartbreaking.”

As her friends in Aransas Pass readjust to life on the coast, Beardsley is focusing on adapting to life at Bowie High School.

“The education is more difficult,” Beardsley said. “At AP it was kind of a pushover school and everything was so easy. I still get good grades here, but I was number 11 out of 118, and that changed when I got here.”

The workload at Bowie also came as a slight surprise to Beardsley, who never had much homework at her former school. On top of school work, Janna also balances a good share of extra curriculars at Bowie, such as choir, theatre, and a psychology class.

“This school is so much harder,” Beardsley said. “But I do like it, it’s preparing me.”

It also didn’t take long for Beardsley to connect with her influential teachers here.

“Ms. Flick, she’s the best,” Beardsley said. “I hate math, but she’s the best teacher.”

Outside of school, Janna is soaking up the uniqueness of Austin and exploring the new opportunities that living here offers.

“Ever since I was younger I always wanted to live in a big city,” Beardsley said. “So it’s really cool to have everything so close.”

Beardsley is surrounded with new friends and neighbors as well as the tons of fun things to do in Austin.

“I don’t have to go far to go anywhere,” Beardsley said. “Back in Aransas Pass you had to go all the way to Corpus to get somewhere, which was like 45 minutes away.”

With music being one of her passions, Beardsley has had the chance to pursue her love of playing guitar and ukulele since she moved.

“My neighbor that we stayed with, she’s the best,” Beardsley said. “She has this other neighbor that is a music producer and she is helping me with a bunch of stuff, so hopefully I’ll be continuing with that.”

Glowka, the neighbor Beardsley stayed with for a short time, has been a large support system for Beardsley and helped her first get introduced to the music industry.

“My neighbor and friend Peggy Jones is in the music industry,” Glowka said. “I introduced Janna to her and had her sing for her.”

Jones and Glowka have since helped Beardsley pursue her singing and songwriting interests.

“It was helpful to learn where to continue with her music,” Glowka said. “And Peggy has her own company which gives us great contacts in the industry.”

With a strong support system made up of friends, teachers, and neighbors, Beardsley has been able to explore her artistic talent more since the move.

“What I think is very unique about Janna with her music is that she has a natural and raw talent that most don’t have,” Glowka said. “She hears and feels music, and then is able reproduce with it without much effort because it is like second nature to her.”

Moving to the ‘Live Music Capital of the World’ has been a silver lining throughout this time in Beardsley’s life.

“In Austin it’s especially cool, it’s a big music town,” Beardsley said. “So that’s one of the things I’m trying to focus on.”