Washington, D.C. was amazing. I LOVED it and definitely want to go back someday! My friend, Amy, and her mom were so nice to let me stay with them! I had fun hanging out with them and visiting the incredible monuments. I got to see The Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, and The Constitution. Oh! And The Magna Carta. I must say, it was very moving to look at the original documents that have affected the lives of so many--including mine. I can thank the men who risked their lives by signing those documents for my freedom, the freedom to become anything I want to be, to practice any religon I choose, and to petition my government so it can better suite my needs and the needs of the general public.

And wow! The penmanship was so gorgeous...it looked just like cursive font from a computer, but it was hand-written! The lady that worked there said that George Washington wrote the draft for The Constitution, but hired someone with perfect penmanship to write it out and make it look pretty. It took him twenty-six hours to write outThe Constitution in that penmanship. Even so, I can't believe he pulled it off like that! I bet that guy's super messy handwriting is tons neater than my neat handwriting.

I also visited two Smithsonian museums: The Museum of Natural History and The Museum of American History. My favorite part of the Museum of Natural History was the section on Modern fossils. Modern fossils are organisms that haven't evolved in the past several million years, so their bones are the exact same as the fossils from long ago. What was cool about the display was that they had the fossils that were millions to hundreds of millions of years old, and then the bones of a just-recently-deceased organism. It was really fun to look at. The ones that I remembered from biology class were the Lungfish and the Alligator, both organisms that have evolved very little for a long, long time.

At the American History museum, they had an awesome display on First Ladies and all that they have done to influence politics and charity in The United States AND the world. In the end, they really do about as much as The President himself, just different types of activities. They are such strong role models when it comes to charity, and to the women of America. If you go to that museum ever, make sure you set aside a good amount of time to spend there! I sure felt like I could have spent three days at each museum, or even four, instead of one.

The war memorials were also incredible. I definitely cried at the Vietnam War Memorial. It was so sad to walk all the way down that wall that had all 58,000 names of those that died in the war. Every once in a while, they had a profile laying at the base of the wall of one of them, containing a picture, a basic profile, and the age at death. There were so many that were between 18 and 20 years old! They were just kids. One of them had a letter written for the man who died, just a couple years out of highschool. It was written by someone in his family who was young and didn't ever get to meet him, but wanted to tell him how much of a hero he was in his eyes, and to tell him his family hadn't forgotten about him; in fact, he'd been a great artist, and his mom still had his art hanging up on her fridge from highschool. That's when I started crying. I really hope people thinka bout the cost of war before they just want to jump into it. Sure, the Iraq war has ONLY had 2,000 deaths or so, but really. Try to think about it. It's not 58,000, but just try COUNTING to 2,000, and thinking about each number that you go through as being a life that was lost, mostly of young men who haven't yet lived their lives. Wait! I just looked upt he official number. As of today, 2,319 American soldiers have died in the Iraq war. And I'm not saying that this war has no purpose, but I get angry when people say that it doesn't matter if there's a purpose or not, because this war is efficient and, Gosh, not THAT many people are dying! Well, that's fine, until it's you. Then you can think a little freaking more about what the freaking point is about the war you're fighting.

Because all I could think about after reading that was how sad it must be to graduate from highschool, be all young and full of opportunity. Children spend their entire lives going to school to prepare for something big. Some grow up to be firefighters: every step they take, and every bit they learn is to get them closer to that goal. Some grow up to be teachers, some doctors, and of course, there are countless other hopes and dreams kids strive for. Imagine thinking you were going to grow up and work that hard to become your dream occupation, but come to the realization that it actually isn't so: you've grown up to die. That's it. You studied, you got your highschool diplmoma, but were never given the opportunity to use all the knowledge and understanding you have acquired over your thirteen years of grade school.

Imagine being the mother who has to walk by her refrigerator every day and see that ray of hope that once existed in her son; the talent and passion that goes into even a tiny piece of art, so small and insignificant in the grand scheme of time, but yet so alive. Imagine thinking about how afraid he must have been that day he was shot, blown up, or somehow obliterated by the enemy. How he died overseas, so far away, where you couldn't hold him and tell him its okay just like you did when he scraped his knee as a young boy. Only this time, it wasn't okay. Did he die alone? Or did he die in the arms of his soldier friend? Was his soul even alive the day he left this Earth after seeing all the death and destruction, and having to bear weapons and obliterate other human beings day after day? A man so young, he's just barely a man. A man who should be at college learning things that are exciting and stimulating, and dating cute girls. Instead, he is plunged into the vile law of the jungle: eat or be eaten. And he is eaten. End of story. Goodbye, American youth.

Ever read Dulce Et Decorum Est? It's by Wilfred Owen, who wrote it while wounded in World War one and then was thrown back out into the frontlines and later killed. People speak of dying for our country as being a glorious thing, but is it really? If you were shot in the gut, lying there bleeding on the scorchingly hot ground in Iraq, would you feel like a hero? Would you think "Gosh, this is what I've always wanted!" Think about it.

Sometimes, war is necessary. But I wish people would just understand how much war costs: how much pain it inflicts. And if the purpose of the war isn't worth that kind of death, don't do it! It's so easy for the old guys in charge to send the young people over to die. As they said in "Troy," "War is young men dying, and old men talking." The young men don't make the decision: the old ones do. What a twisted system where the ones who have to pay the steepest price have little to no say in whether or not it's worth it.

Just something to think about.

Anyway, the trip to D.C. was amazing. It was very thought-provoking, and emotional. I definitely put in a few prayers for our American soldiers who have sacrificed so much for American freedom. Oh! I almost forgot! I got to visit Arlington Cemetery, too, which was interesting because I got the see The Change of the Guard. And I saw John F. and Jacqueline Kennedys' graves. I wouldn't call it fun...I can hardly say "Yay! I just saw thousands of graves for Americans who died at war or being assasinated!" But it was a good experience.

God Bless America!!!