Marian Wright Edelman, the president and founder of the Children's Defense Fund, once said, "Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it." I feel that education is way more than making sure you go to class or studying for the big biology exam. Whatever you learn must be used to better the lives of the people around you. After this trip, I will definitely use the things I have learned to fight for civil rights today.
When I return from this trip, I will be educated immensely, regarding people who were involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Right now, all I can tell you is that Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X were two of the most important figures in the movement. However, there are sooooo many other important figures from the movement whose name is unknown. And THAT is why I'm on this trip. I want to learn everything I can about the movement so that I can become a better activist for civil rights.
As an African-American, sometimes I take it for granted that I can go anywhere I want to get an education, I can sit anywhere I want on the bus, and I can drink from any water fountain I see. But there is a proverb that says that one generation plants the seed, and the other generation gets the shade. People from the movement went through so much persecution to get African-Americans to the place they are now.After this trip I feel like I will have a greater appreciation for the movement and realize how important it actually was.
So what am I doing right now the day before we leave? PACKING!!! I packed sooo many things it is not funny. I'm just being a girl lol. But anyway, I still haven't finished and I still have to go to Wal-mart and get some stuff for the trip. But I love packing. Me and some of my friends who are going on the trip, Brittany and May, are planning to stay up the whole night. What's the point of going to bed when we have to wake up at like 5 in the morning? And we are just that excited anyway!!!
