The trip of a life time!

This past Christmas vacation I got the chance to go to Memphis, Tennessee to represent Maine as Homecoming queen during the Auto Zone Liberty Bowl. I also got to visit St. Jude's Hospital which was such an amazing experience. 

I was also apart of the parade that was held on Beal Street,the day before the big game, which is the street Memphis is known for. The game was an all day event and was an event that I though I would never experience before. Me and all the queens were apart of the pre-game and half time show, getting the chance to preform with Diamond Rio. My fear of being in front of a large group of people suddenly went away after preforming in front of 57, 000 people. 

Seeing kids on Tv and advertisements who were suffering from cancer are very touching and heartbreaking but when I actually walked into St. Jude’s, it all became real. There were little kids with no hair, leg braces, kids in wheelchairs, and kids hooked up to ives. But there was one thing that all of these young children had in common. They were all so happy. Even though each kid was fighting for their life, all you saw were smiles. After seeing pure joy in the kids faces when we all walked in and seeing how amazing St. Jude’s really was, made you forget that you were even in a hospital. I guess thats why the kids always looked happy because St. Jude’s doesnt make it seem like your in a hospital. 

After three days, I had left with three new friends all the way from Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Kansas but unfortunately will probably never see them again. Although I probably won't see them again, we still keep in touch. I learned many things by going on this trip and made a lot of unforgettable memories!