It is that time of the year again, when all you hear and feel at school is the hum of excitement over plans for the summer. All you seem to hear is people talking about going to the beach, seeing a concert, going to awesome amusement parks, or watching movies. It gives you a certain kind of feeling. A good feeling of anticipation and wonder and curiosity. The only time when you are allowed to be free and the possibilities are endless. Summer is the time when you get to have some of the most memorable experiences of your life.
My favorite of these experiences so far was when I took a trip to Washington D.C. Our school had offered the opportunity to go on this trip with other students. I wanted to go so badly because I love to go places so I asked my parents and they agreed that it would be an amazing experience. I had never traveled so far away without my parents for so long but I got over the anxiety quickly once I found out I was going with some of my friends that I knew. We had to take 3 separate planes to get there, which was so much fun. I hadn’t flown since I was about six years old so it was very exciting for me. When we arrived at the first hotel of many, we all unpacked then went to sleep because we were exhausted. The next day, which was a Tuesday, we woke up very early then started our week long journey of visiting many places. Each day started as early as 5 in the morning and ended around midnight or later. We visited many famous places like the Ford Theater where Lincoln was assassinated, Arlington National Cemetery, the capitol building itself, the White House, and many more. One of the most heart breaking to me was the United States Holocaust Memorial museum. It was a humongous museum with different departments all contributed to the Holocaust. I remember seeing an exhibit where they had literally thousands of pairs of Jews’ shoes on display. I learned that they were all confiscated by Hitler because they were not allowed to have any type of personal belongings. I was in shock not only by the number of shoes but by realizing how many people’s lives were affected by the Holocaust. I knew that the holocaust was a very traumatic event in history but by seeing actual artifacts and historical footage I never knew how much of an impact it made on millions of people’s lives. I also visited many other amazing museums but the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum had the most impact on me.
We were all exhausted by the end of the week but we didn’t care because we were having so much fun. I came back with a new knowledge of our past while having tons of fun. I learned from this trip that it is good to get out and experience things for yourself because that is the best way to learn about things. That is why traveling is so important to me. Of course it is fun, but you also get to learn new things that you wouldn’t get to anywhere else.