Our final days of the Freedom Tour have drawn to a close. As I write this, we are traveling through New York on our way to Brunswick. We started off our day at 5:00 AM. That was not a typo, it really said 5:00. We were all zombies who were barely awake when we got on the bus, but by 7:00, when we reached the today show, we were all wide awake. It was so exciting to see all of our favorite news anchors. We even got to meet Al!!!!!! The  most exciting part was seeing Peter Parker A.K.A.  Andrew Garfield. Some of the students got to have a conversation with him and said that he was very nice. Libbey, when asked about Andrew, said, "OH MY GOD!!!!!! HE IS A TERRIFIC DANCER AND HE IS SOOO HOT!!!!!!" I never knew Libbey was such a spider man fanatic. Aurora said to me, "Andrew is just so funny!" Even after Andrew asked us to get out of the pouring rain, we continued to stand dutifully outside. After the Today Show we went to the top of the rock where we could see all of New York. Then it was time for the thing all of us have been waiting for; shopping! We went all over downtown New York looking for the perfect souvenirs, or in Libbey's case, the perfect chocolaty snack. Monica  was one of a few people who went to Abercrombie & Fitch and got her picture taken with a male model. Our group had tons of fun at Urban Outfitters when we decided to try on the most ridiculous shoes we have ever seen in our lives. We then headed to lunch at the Hard Rock Café to meet up with the rest of the group. Inside the restaurant was some of the coolest artifacts we've ever seen. They had suits belonging to The Beatles and even some vintage motorcycles. Now we are on the bus heading home. I've asked a few students their opinions on the Freedom Tour. Alexis remembers the dinner theater as her favorite part of the trip, "I liked how everyone got to dress up," she exclaimed. Lena's favorite place to visit was Gettysburg, "It made history come alive," she explained. "The saddest part of this trip was either the Holocaust Museum or the Pentagon Memorial. The Holocaust was such a sad and scary piece of history; it was hard to see all the things that happened. However, the Pentagon was horrible too. As we entered through there, many people cried." None of us will ever forget what went on this week of our lives and we can not thank everyone enough. Thanks to the volunteers, Phill, and Marybeth. Most importantly, thank you. The parents who helped us get to the trip. We love and miss you! Can't wait to get home! 
~Mikayla