Washington D.C.

Author's Note: My project on Washington D.C. was not a success, but it wasn't a complete loss. I did get some experience out of it. I'm writing this piece as a narrative for my Washington D.C. project. In this piece, I am working on voice more than anything else.  Please leave me some feedback.

JrNYLC at Lincoln Memorial

Since the spring of 2010 I've been dreaming of getting another chance to go to Washington D.C.  In sixth grade, I received my first.  It was a day similar to any other -- I got up, went to school, came home, got the mail, and so on.  In the mail that day there was a formal-looking envelope addressed To the Parents of Mai Vo, so I waited for my parents to open it with me.  Inside there were different letters and information for my parents and I about the Junior National Young Leaders Conference (JrNYLC).  The letter stated that my teacher nominated me to represent Wisconsin in a week-long leadership conference in Washington D.C.  In addition, I would have visited all the tourist attractions, heard various speakers, met tons of people, and experience a leadership trip of a lifetime.

White House

Unfortunately I wasn't able to go.  It was a mix between time, scheduling, and money -- and being on my own -- that interfered with the trip.  I still have the letter as a keepsake and I enjoy reading it to think of the phenomenal opportunity.  Though I didn’t go, I still got something out of that opportunity.  I got inspiration -- inspiration to relive the leadership trip.  I wanted to study all of the places that I would have visited such as the Lincoln Memorial and the White House.  As I shared my plan with Mr. Johnson he asked me, "Have you thought of planning a trip to Washington D.C. this year?"  I hadn't considered that at all, when I meant "relive" I didn't think I would actually get to go.  In fact I was thinking about a little project to discover more in Washington D.C., but I loved the idea of traveling there.  That turned out to be my second chance.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Right away I began researching and looking into hotels, dates and times, and transportation fare to visit all of the attractions.  I spent lots of time on my computer a lot and rereading my JrNYLC letters and schedule to plan a similar experience.  I wanted to visit all of the places that I would have visited back in 2010. Mr. Johnson assisted me to choose some additional places to go and places to cut from my list.  I ended with a list of thirteen destinations: the American History Museum, Arlington Cemetery, Capitol Hill, Ford Theater, Holocaust Museum, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Memorial, Maryland Science Center, Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Spy Museum, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the White House.  I couldn't wait to leave for Washington D.C. because this time would be better than the first.

Map

A couple weeks after I started my project it began to tumble down.  I worked hard and put nearly all my time in this project for a little while, but my parents booked our spring vacation during the same time that I was scheduling to go to Washington D.C.  Sure I was upset, but I somewhat saw an interference coming.  I had gotten too excited so go to Washington D.C. that I forgot about everything that could get in the way with arranging a large class trip.

Washington D.C.

In the end, I can't go to Washington D.C. -- again -- but I learned a more about the places that I want to visit and how complicated it is to schedule a comprehensive class trip.  Someday I hope can go to Washington D.C. and have the experience that I’ve been waiting for.  Until then I'll keep on dreaming and trying to make my wish come true.