 |
| March for Life |
This is basically my summary of the trip to Washington D.C. I went on in January to March for Life that my last post spoke a little of. I thought I would write it up here since I already had most of this written down in my journal and it seemed like it could make a good blog post. Some of it might be a little redundant of my last post but it has more details and some new content as well. It's not a thriller novel, but it's a literary snapshot of a few days of my life. Enjoy =)
 |
| United States House Chamber |
Went to Washington D.C. on the night of Jan. 22 (around 9 p.m.). Traveled by bus all night and got there around 10 a.m. Then we went to the holocaust museum with our group and chaperons and then got to tour the capitol building with Marlin Stutzman and his family and heard stories about things there (statues, paintings, certain locations) from Mrs. Stutzman (Christy) and a tour guide. We got to go into the house chamber (quite an honor) and stand close to where president Obama will (this was written on January 25th) give his State of the Union Speech today (but two days later from then). Something interesting about that room, right above where the vice president and Speaker of the House are usually seated for the SOTU address, are the words IN GOD WE TRUST (but I have never seen that shown on TV). Also, sculptures of famous leaders throughout history can be found mounted on the wall around the top of the whole room. The leader whose face is above the door that the President comes through to give the SOTU address is that of Moses (but rarely is that shown either).
Then we headed to St. Ann's Parish (a catholic church in Arlington) for the night where we had a pizza party for dinner and all the girls slept in the basement and the boys slept upstairs. One of my friends washed her hair in a toilet and another friend and I helped. We all got a little chewed out for it cause we weren't supposed to wash our hair in the sinks. I'd like to point out that nobody ever said anything about washing hair in toilets. Anyways . . . I french-braided a bunch of girls' hair and one friend and I built a tent to shield us from the emergency light's light shining right down on us.
 |
| Hart Senate Office Building |
 |
| National Mall |
The next morning, some mistake about breakfast was made so some of us didn't get an official breakfast-we just snacked-but I'm alive today to type this so it wasn't that bad. When we got on the bus to ride back into D.C., the woman who headed up the whole trip had an appointment by cell phone to be on catholic radio back in our home town and asked if I would talk too so I agreed to. I spoke about my thoughts on touring the Capitol building the day before and my feelings on abortion and what it meant to me to be able to come on this trip. We got off the bus and half of the group I was with (and I) went to Senator Lugar's office in the Hart Senate Office Building (the other half went to Senator Coats' office in the Dirksen Senate Office building). Senator Lugar was unavailable, but we spoke with his aide. A few of us got to ask him questions. I asked if the Senator was "committed to voting to repeal the use of taxpayer dollars under the Obama health care plan to fund abortion" (yes, those are the exact words with which I asked) -to which he replied yes (hopefully that will turn out to be the truth). Then we ate lunch in the cafeteria of the building (Senator Lugar's office building) and made our way outside and walked over to the rally where everyone there to march for life was gathered at the National Mall (pictured to the up and to the left). Marlin Stutzman came on stage for a minute and our group from the Allen County Right to Life got a shout-out (woot-woot!).
 |
| Smithsonian Castle |
Then the march began. It was moving slowly (as marches do) so we navigated our way through it a little quicker than it was moving so we could have time to go to a reception some legislators from Indiana were having for people from Indiana. We got to see the Stutzmans again there (minus their boys). After the reception, some of us decided that we wanted to go see the Lincoln memorial and after walking a ways, realized we wouldn't have time. So we went to the Smithsonian Castle which was where the buses were going to pick us up. While we were waiting a few of us strolled over to a museum of african art that was really nearby-it wasn't very big but I'm still glad I got to go to a little branch of the Smithsonian (especially cause I had just watched the movie
Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian before going to D.C.). Anyways, then the buses came and we all got chick-fil-a dinners for on the bus. Two of my friends and I could't sit together so I sat by another girl I didn't know all the way back and got the chance to make a new acquaintance.
I got a tiny amount of sleep that night on the bus cause it's so hard for me to sleep in moving vehicles. Well really more like in an upright position. But it was o.k.
I wrote and listened to music and thought and prayed and I really enjoyed my time. It made me realize that I really appreciate bus windows: they're huge! Looking out of bus windows is like watching a movie of the scenery you're driving past. They definitely beat airplane windows, hands down. Back to the point, we made it back to town by around 5:45 a.m. and arrived home by around 7 a.m. after unloading everything and dropping one of my friends off at her house. I brushed my teeth and got ready for bed (now I know a little of what it feels like to work 3rd shift) and asked my parents if my sister and I really had to go to school on four hours of sleep so they said no, much to my relief. They just let us chill that day which was a big blessing.
All in all, it was an amazing, thought-provoking, fun, sometimes frustrating, educational, blessed trip and I am so thankful that God made it all happen. I can't wait to go back someday.
-anna
