those changes, my family and I are also in the process of rebuilding our lives.As many of you know, our house was struck by lightening and burned to the ground. I know my mom took you all through that night pretty much moment by moment. ( you can catch here post “What Are The Odds” HERE if you missed it). It’s interesting how you can forget some things over time, but big things like this seem to play out like a movie; never loosing a single detail.
I was upstairs folding laundry. It was about 11:00 (I procrastinate, what can I say) and I was just about finished. I needed to get to bed because I was graduating in the morning! I had been looking forward to that day for the last four years of my life. I had all my makeup lined up, dresses hung up, and my cap and gown on perfect display. It was storming hard outside 
per usual this time of year, and I was just finishing up an episode of the flash when I heard the lightening (ironic no?). For those of you that live in Bixby, you know that we have lightening storms out here all the time, so we are no strangers to the sound it makes when it cracks. I didn’t give it a second thought until my mom came upstairs and said she smelled smoke. Even then I wasn’t thinking the lightening had anything to do with it. We ran around the house with my dad trying to figure out where it was coming from before coming to the conclusion that it was nothing. I went back upstairs and resumed my show and then I heard another crack. But this time it wasn’t lightening. You know the crack wood makes when it burns? It was that sound. Then I heard my dad yell, “the house is on fire call 911 and get everyone out”. He let the dog out and I ran downstairs with my phone and the clothes on my back, no shoes and grabbed two of the littles. When I got into my parents room the smoke was falling from the vents above their bed. My mom and I got the kids to the car and she went back in to grab the cats. Then she backed out of the drive way. I looked at my mom and she looked at me with tears in her eyes and said “we probably just lost everything… I am so so sorry Karis”. I 
knew it wasn’t her fault, and all I could say was, “it’s okay… it’s not your fault. All of those things can be replaced”. I don’t know how much comfort that was to anyone but that is all I could think of. At this point Tracey got out of the car to warn our neighbors and I called my Pop. The boys were sitting in the back seat and they were so confused. Joseph was in the back seat shaking and I just held him and said “it’s okay..I promise it is ok”. Again, don’t know how much help that was. As the night rolled on I watched the flames move through the house. I was still sitting in the car with the boys and my pop now joined us and we just watched the house get taken over by the fire. Tracey had said previously do not call or text Kaylee because she had no idea how she was going to explain this. Tracey knew that the phone call to Kaylee would have to be made because it was going to be all over social media. I understood that Tracey was trying to assess the situation before calling her. She had called me twice and I didn’t answer cause not only had I been told not to, but I didn’t know how to tell her we had just lost everything all over again. (no worries though Tracey called Kaylee and explained the situation and my Pop and I did talk to her as the night progressed.)
It was about 1 o’clock when Julie Goodroe came to the car door. She said I could come to her house with her daughter Lauren(she’s my age and basically a sister to me) and we would go to Senior breakfast and get shoes and makeup for the day ahead. So I went to their house and thank goodness Walmart is open 24/7 because we made a super late night Walmart run and got all the necessities for the next day. I was wearing Lauren’s sweat pants, a hoodie, and some of her shoes and I said “man I look like a homeless person…oh wait I am!” She looked at me and laughed and said “man I hate you”. I mean that was probably too soon but it was funny none the less. We got back to her house and then I showered and was in bed at about 3:45. I had to be up at 7 for breakfast and according to Lauren, when my alarm went off I just groaned and went back to sleep. But eventually I got up and got ready for the day. It was going to be a long one. Thanks to Mama Goodroe for helping through that long night and getting me everything I needed. And to Mrs. Carter, and Heidi Dees for moving heaven and earth to get me a cap and gown and all of my chords. You guys really came through in a pinch and I can never say thank you enough to any of you for doing that for me.
When we got to breakfast, I knew some people knew and some people didn’t. All of my teachers knew, as did my principal and my closest friends. I was already just joking and laughing about it because what else is there to do? We were graduating and I was not about to let that get squandered by the previous night’s events. I put that famous smile on my face and just did what I normally would. I laughed and I joked and we all had a wonderful time. After rehearsal, Lauren and I went to the mall to get other things for grad fest. We got back to her house and I put on a dress that a friend let me barrow (Props to Hannah Due) and I was ready to go. I met with my family at Russo’s and we had a nice dinner and I cannot tell you guys how nice it was to just sit down with them. That was the only 
break I got all day so just hanging out with them for a minute gave me a much needed boost. And then I graduated. I finally did it. Nothing could ruin that moment. I walked across that stage more proud than ever to be a Spartan. I completed my journey there, and while it was a rough one, I would not change a single thing about it.
It wasn’t until I was headed back to pop’s house to get ready for grad fest (which lasted until 3:30 a.m) that I really broke down. This guy cut me off while I was driving and I went “come on man I just want to go home” and then I started to cry. I cried the whole way back and then I gave my mom a big hug and got ready to go to grad fest. I had an amazing time. We ate, and we laughed, and we played until we couldn’t play anymore. Then I got home and I CRASHED!
We had to come back for a week and two days after graduation which was kind of blessing cause it was normal in the midst of chaos. That last day I said my goodbyes. I have truly loved being a part of the spartan family. Not only because of the friends it has given me but the continuous love and support.
We had my grad party as planned that Saturday at Savastano’s. The owner had a grand kid that graduated with me and they were so kind to let us have my party there free of charge. We had the whole back patio to 
ourselves and it was really a great day. We ate, and just had fun enjoying each others company. Thank you to everyone who came to congratulate me and support my family.
I know it’s going to sound shallow and dumb, but the things that I was the most mad about right after it happened were my guitar, my makeup and my baby blanket. My dad taught me how to play the guitar not long after we moved in with them and it was something that we really bonded over, so when he got me one of my own, it was a really big deal to me. It wasn’t just any guitar either. It was a Taylor (which is one of the 
top two acoustic guitar brands in the world). Anyone that knows me knows that my guitar was my prized possession. I was mad about my makeup because it represented a change. After my mom died, I fought so hard against change. And my makeup represented a girl that I fought against so hard for so long and while I was fighting, I was miserable. It really did help me embrace learning new things, a new situation, and with that a new me. My baby blanket for obvious reasons. You know how over time blankets get kind of matted and they aren’t as soft as they used to be? Well this one must have had some type of magic in it because it was still the softest thing in the world. Of course I didn’t get it out much but It was one of those things where I could just touch it and I would some how feel so comforted and warm. I was also forced to let go of some of my mom’s things that I just didn’t want to let go of. And I think that in away, that is a good thing. Sure, I was upset about the pictures and the yearbooks but at the end of the day, I will always remember the big stuff. I will never forget how to play the guitar, or how to do makeup, or how soft that blanket was, or those precious memories. Those things are with me always, even if they aren’t there physically.
It has been about 6 weeks since the fire and I really don’t think about it much. At this point it’s just another inconvenience and we work our way around it. I’m not mad about those things anymore because I know it could have been so much worse. Satan had things perfectly lined up to kill at least one of us and yet we all still made it out without a scratch. I think at first I was really frustrated because we were trying to be so positive about something that wasn’t a positive at all. When my mom died, we were all able to rebuild together, and it’s weird that even though we are rebuilding as a family, it will be in different places. But once I let myself be angry and annoyed at satan and the world, I realized it really is going to be okay. We move on and we rebuild as we go. It’s not the house that makes a home, but the people in it. And no matter where I am, I know I have a home. I realized that there are a lot of positives that came out of this. I honestly never knew how much people cared about me and my family. And I will carry that sense of community no matter where I am. God has always taken care of me and my family, and I have no reason to expect this situation to be any different. I know He will show His light and guiding hand as we start our next adventure.
Thank you to everyone who has prayed, donated, called, texted etc. 
Lauren, you are truly family and thanks for everything you do for me. Mama Goodroe, thanks you for showing me that this is one of those times where “you just say thank you”. Aunt Su and Jaden, thank you for all of the clothes you all brought. That was so so kind of you. Bailey, thank you for coming in so clutch with my grad party dress and everything else you gave me. Krista, thank you for all of the clothes. Cassidy, you crack me up and thank you for the hamper full of necessities. Those are just a few specifics, but really to all of my friends (Haley, Kayla, Cheyenne, Lilly, 
Bella, the entire track team, Teachers, administrators etc) and family (spartan or otherwise) you guys have no idea how much everything you guys have given and said means to me. When I was leaving school on the last day, Mr. Bittle said that I had been and inspiration to everyone there at Bixby, but you guys have inspired me just as much. Thank you all for being there when I needed to talk, or taking me out to get my mind off things, or just being there in 
general. There are not enough words in the english language that carry enough weight to really and truly express my gratitude to God, my family, my friends, or the Spartan Nation.
There are so many more things to be said and so many thank you’s that need to be written, but if I wrote them all, we would be here for the next year. So I’ll close with this. Thank you to everyone for caring about my family. I don’t know what we did to deserve such amazing people like you all in our lives. We are truly blessed. And yes, This Girl Is On Fire! I have been armed with some pretty serious life experiences and I am going to use them to my advantage. There is nothing that I can’t do and there is nothing I believe I can’t do!
