triumphant return

wow. that was one loooooooooooooong trip. i got back on saturday from our civil rights journey. it was pretty amazing. okay i'll admit it...it was amazingly transformational. first, it was the most rewarding work experience i have ever had. i also now feel like i have a bunch of new friends. unfortunately they are 17 and they think of me somewhere between an older sibling that gives good advice and a teacher. i prefer the older sibling role i think. it's weird to think of anyone looking up to me. i'm so misguided myself. i mean, i have a list of favorite mistakes to suggest they not make so i guess that's something. okay, there's no way to actually describle the experience so i'll just list some highlights below. aiiiiight?

• met elaine brown, former chairwoman of the black panther party
• met charles evers (medgar's brother) and discovered through him that indeed pimpin' ain't easy
• learned how to play texas hold 'em (well, sorta learned)
• met new personal hero: bryan stevenson
• managed to contain laughter during the craziest church service i have ever witnessed (got hit with a mack truck of blessings)

okay, that's just a few. it's hard to sum up 25 days in bullet points when so much of what makes the trip great is the experience of being on it. anyway, i am tired and going home soon so that's gonna have to be it. sorry this isn't particularly poignant or funny or anything. my brain is seriously fried from the mississippi heat or something.