My Country 'Tis of Thee

I don’t think I was truly an American until today. Yes, I was born and raised here – never left actually, but it wasn’t until I finally traveled to Washington, D.C. that the true spirit of America flowed through my dormant veins of patriotism.

Day one of handbell tour: We visited the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Awestruck. I had never even heard of the National Cathedral until my director mentioned it and I definitely never imagined anything so grand. It was also nice that I had just learned about the architecture of cathedrals in my art appreciation class. Inside the cathedral, I finally understood why stained glass windows are so beautiful. They cast rainbows across the enormous columns, lighting up the otherwise muted colors of the cathedral. But the best part was the bell tower, because we are, after all, a bell choir. We were able to travel up the windy staircase to see the 14,000 lb bells. We also got an exclusive tour with the bell ringers that pull ropes to produce the change ring on the smaller bells. It was fascinating . . . I kind of want to try it. The thing is, when you’re pulling on a rope that connects to a 600 lb bell, the bell is in charge and you can get seriously injured if you don’t know what you’re doing. That proves it, bell ringing is an extreme sport! Oh yeah, I am a beller.

Next, we traveled to the main monuments of D.C. I rode the metro for the first time!! Woo, woo! I was excited, oh yes, I was excited. It was like walking onto the set of National Treasure or Night at the Museum 2. I saw the Lincoln Memorial up close and personal, the Washington Monument, and the WWII Memorial. I held the Washington Monument in the palm of my hands. Once again, I was awestruck because of such an amazing tribute to our country and its rich history. Definitely more important than just being the set of a movie.

There is something that stirs deep within me as I stand beneath Abraham Lincoln’s solemn gaze as his famous words echo on the walls around me. To see the memorials to our soldiers and know that each star presents a boy whose life was whisked away by the terrors of war is very sobering, but also fills me with a deep gratitude for what our country represents and how much we are willing to protect that. It gives me hope for this country.