I was one of the few people who had the chance to witness what will be in history books. Windows were boarded up and broken from riots. There were signs and posters up either in protest or support for our president at the time, there were local men preaching in the streets, Black Lives Matter signs covering every window. I remember there was a fence surrounding the streets of the White House and everywhere you looked people were in masks because of the ongoing pandemic. I had never seen such a vivid, but also sad depiction of what America had become. As I went to the monuments and read about what our country was founded on, I walked back to the hotel  looking around only to see how much things have changed. It seemed nobody believed we were equal, nobody had love in their hearts. “How did we get here?” I would ask myself. It seemed almost unreal. But, it was the kind encounters we had with people on the streets, who showed us love despite race or beliefs that made me realize, maybe it isn't all bad. I remember the man who sat on the corner across from our hotel, he would sit there for most of the day talking to people and just sharing kind words. That's what the world needs more of. People who are willing to be kind and show love.

It encouraged me, and made me want to show love to those who may not see it anywhere else, because you never know whose heart you are touching by simply being kind. 

Albert Schweitzer once said: “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”

So I believe that if you have a passion to go to school and be a brain surgeon and that's what makes you happy, do it. And if you are truly happy waiting tables at your hometown restaurant and that's what you want to do, do it. I want people to see that success shouldn't be measured by other people, only by how you feel. 

People dress differently to show how they feel on the inside and what they are going through. There are fashion trends that are constantly changing and evolving to a point it can become hard to keep up with them. There are timeless pieces you can never go wrong with that while they may never be in style, they are also never out of style. The way people dress greatly affects our society even down to how some people are treated. If you are wearing the nicest newest clothes you are looked at as better than someone with the old, worn outfit. When in reality it's about who you really are that matters.