Martin Luther King, Jr.

Well, we've made it to January 19 already. Another holiday season has come and gone. And now we find ourselves preparing for a new president to be inaugurated into office. In the midst of the preparation for this event tomorrow, may we not forget the importance of today. Today is the celebrated observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day which could easily be lost in the chaos of tomorrow's events, but there are also a lot of tie-ins to link these events together as well.
I think it is important that we remember the events of this day as they are key events in the history of the United States, but also it was a great progression in the civil rights movement of the United States. In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. led a march in Washington ending the march with his famous speech, "I Have A Dream," which transpired on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. What is the significance of the speech being given in this location? Martin Luther King, Jr. stood on the steps of the memorial of the President who had desperately tried to end slavery a century before. His speech was almost a continuing thought of what Lincoln had tried to establish in 1861 with the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln never really got to see the full effect of his proclamation due to his assassination, but it was one of the baby steps in giving liberty to all citizens. But back to Martin Luther King, Jr. Martin Luther King, Jr. won a Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent efforts to end racial segregation and discrimination. He was the youngest man to have won this in the history of the award, and also established himself as one of the greatest orators in this nation's history. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a contributor to peacefully finding a solution to the issues surrounding the Montgomery Bus Boycott. He worked so hard on this issue that his house was bombed as a result of his efforts. After his assassination in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, King was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Medal of Honor.
As a nation we have come a long ways from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1865. As a nation, we have now elected a black president. And although I don't and many do not agree with everything he stands for, we should celebrate the fact that the U.S. has come this far in the civil rights movement since 1968-only 41 years ago. Although it seems like we will always have some racial discrimination against different people groups, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream to end racial discrimination is getting closer to becoming a reality.

Home

Finally, after three months, I am home once again. We left Dallas Thursday morning about 10 and stopped in Nashville that night and made it to Maryland Friday night at about 11. My return has been bittersweet. Yes, it is wonderful to back home with the family and once again sleeping in my own bed and not sharing a bathroom with 20 other girls, but at the same time I miss the community of the dorm life, my church, and the friends that I left behind in Dallas. But life is filled with bittersweet moments. If everything was perfect, we would not realize what the good times in life look like.
On a brighter note...We have family in for Christmas and have been having a great time. So far we've explored D.C. in 30 degree weather. Besides the weather part, it was a good time. I think the plans for the rest of the week include a hockey game, touring Annapolis, savoring Christmas memories, and visiting an aquarium.
I start work again on Monday. I'm looking forward to being back there.
Oh, and I guess academically this semester was pretty good. I left with a 3.6 GPA. The only B i made was in economics. Not bad...I expected worse from that class. I still need to go register at the community college.
But anyways....there's a little bit of catch up....

My Day

I had a pretty full day today. My mom had a doctor's appointment in D.C. this morning so Karis, Ryan and I hung out at Walter Reed. After that, we all went to IKEA to get some ideas for dorm room. I absolutely love that store. Their furniture just has so much personality. So that was really fun. Then we had to go run a few errands, but that's boring so I'll leave that part out. After that, I had to go pack for our trip to Pennsylvania. We left for Pennsylvania at around 4:15. Although it looked like a gorgeous day outside, we actually didn't have the best weather for our trip. About 30-45 minutes into the trip, we hit a REALLY bad rain storm. I hate driving in rain storms. Really kind of scary cuz you can't see the markings on the road or the road signs and you have all these 18-wheelers spraying additional water onto your windshield like it's their job to make your driving experience even worse. Yeah, whatever. Then we ran into 3 major traffic jams. We were really lucky to be able to make it to Chambersburg, PA before graduation rehearsal started. And we got grab a quick dinner before so an extra bonus there.
At graduation rehearsal, we estimated that there are about 38 in the Mason-Dixon Homeschool Class of 2008. Of those 38, I know no one besides myself. And I am not totally sure of that. Kind of a bit different circumstances than most kids are accustomed to for graduation, I guess. But it should be interesting. And I promise to post pictures soon. I'm not really sure what I think of the ceremony so I'll have to tell you about that.
After we got done with rehearsal, we were supposed to help decorate the reception area for tomorrow. However, it was kind of disorganized so we helped a little bit and then left.
After everything associated with the graduation rehearsal, we went to our home for a day-the Woodrum's House. Thanks guys so much for letting us stay here! Leah, Karis, Ryan, and I watched August Rush. And for anyone who has not seen that movie, I highly recommend it. Especially if you like music. It's kind of different from any other movie put out that I have heard of. I mean the story is pretty common but the way it was told was definitely different and appealing. But anyways, that was my day. It was a great day. Kinda sorry to see it end. But hopefully tomorrow is even better!

The Ups and Downs

Life is full of ups and downs. Sometimes these are found over a period of time such as months, and other times the ups and downs fluctuate within a period of hours or minutes. Today was a perfect example of the latter. I worked until 4 today. And no offense to any Chick-Fil-A people who are reading this. But it was kind of a tough day at work. I got a promotion, and today was the first official day as team leader. And so I am trying to learn all my new responsibilities. And I think there are some people who are not willing to wait while I learn. But anyways. My mom came in to eat around 3:30. She asked how I was doing and I pretty much summed up the day by saying I was hot, tired, and frustrated. All that would soon change though.

The next person that came to my register was my best friend who lives in Germany. I have not seen this girl in 5 years. Needless to say I was excited. After I finally got over the shock, I wanted to shout. But since I was working the front line that was kind of out of the question since we are supposed to keep our composure at all times. So Karis I am so sorry I did not seem as surprised as I was inside. I am so glad you are here!

I could not wait until 4:00 to come! I had known she was coming but she was not supposed to come until the 3rd or so I thought. She flew over early and her family will be her the 3rd. She came to see me graduate!!!! This means more to me than I can say. So tomorrow we are going to go to IKEA and Washington DC. Not really sure what we are going to do there, but whatever it is it will be fun. And then we leave for Pennsylvania to get ready for graduation. So yeah, the day sure had a turn around. And it was definitely for the better!!!!