In awe and inspired...

After a long bus ride back from Tennessee and being back in Eau Claire, upon reflection this afternoon, alone in my house, the magnitude of the past 7 days has started to set in. An experience of a lifetime that has given me memories to remember forever. Looking back to the Friday before we left, I had no idea what I was getting into, but I am going to recap memories, thoughts, and feelings from a few of the highlights on my trip. Although each place had unique things to offer, I will cover the three most impactful parts of the trip for me.

Starting off in Atlanta, Georgia on a rainy, Sunday morning the group headed to Ebenezer Baptist Church. Not knowing what to expect I wasn't very excited to be attending a church service so early in the morning! And something happened, I was greeted with a great big smile and a "good morning" from every person I came in contact with. Being able to experience first hand what religion means to people in the south, and furthermore, how important this time together is for each and every person in the congregation. There are no words to describe what a person feels when the choir sings, or the pastor inspires with his preaching. Being welcomed and feeling at home with these amazing people really set the tone for what this trip was going to mean.

A few days later I found myself wondering what else I could be shocked by on this amazing trip. Then we traveled to Selma, Alabama where we met up with Joanne Bland. As an 11 year old she marched on Bloody Sunday from Selma to the state capitol in Montgomery, Alabama. Our visit with her started with a trip to the neighborhood where she grew up and allowed us to stand on the same concrete that these marchers gathered on some 44 years ago. Not only did we get to see these extraordinary places, but then we got to march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge as a group, 2 by 2, just as the marchers did on that day. The solitude of that moment will be in my heart and mind forever. I feel like this part of the trip is especially important because we were able to get first hand information from someone who was there and experiencing it first hand. There will come a time in the near future when there will be no one left to tell there story, so it is imperative that our generation keeps it alive and inspiring for them. The fact is, if we do not, it could possibly die, and that would be a tragedy for the history of our country. Her words ring loud when she told us that ‘our generation is the one to make a difference, we are the ones that can continue making the change.’

Then everything came full circle, ending the trip in Memphis, Tennessee. After 7 days of hearing about different historical figures and events that have impacted our national history, we had the opportunity to see history on the most famous activist of them all, Martin Luther King, Jr. Touring the National Civil Rights Museum and seeing the room that MLK stayed during his visit to Memphis is something that I will never forget. Being on the block, and seeing the room, and seeing the parking lot where MLK was before being assassinated was another point in the trip that words cannot describe. Standing in front of the building, alone and speechless, I was able to reflect on what it might have been like, but fully knowing that I have no clue what it would have been like to be there that day.