My Summer by Audrey Palmer

Belle from Beauty and the Beast and I at Disney World.

     This summer was unlike any one I have had so far. I was very blessed to be able to go on three very exciting trips with three different groups of amazing people. 
     At the end of May and beginning of June, I rode with the band to Disney World for a few days. 48 hours of "bus riding bliss" was filled with many movies and much sleep. Once we finally pulled up to Animal Kingdom at 7:00 the first morning, there was no way we were going to let the rainy weather slow us down. I got to live out my childhood dream in Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Magical Kingdom. Everywhere  we went we saw characters from all of our favorite movies, but my favorite part was meeting the Disney Princesses. :) And let me just say that if you have never been to Magic Kingdom at night and seen the firework show, put it on the list of things to do before you die. Truly,it was the happiest place on earth.

     My second adventure this summer was a trip that I had won to Washington D.C. with Missouri's 2012 Youth Tour (Sponsored by our local electric cooperatives). Adam Coffman and I, along with 89 other seniors from around Missouri, had the privilege of getting a first class tour of D.C. In the hotel we stayed in, there were 47 other states represented by their youth tour. So throughout the week, we traded our state pins with 1500 other kids that we may or may not ever see again. It was a blast and we made a ton of friends and memories that will last a lifetime. One of my favorite sites that we visited, that I hadn't seen before, was the Newseum- the historic museum of all things news. There was a newspaper from every major event in US history, the Berlin Wall, and a 9/11 memorial. We could have all spent the whole day in there, but we had other things to tour as well. To anyone who has the opportunity to write a paper and submit it in the Laclede Electric Essay contest their Junior year, I highly reccommend it.

     The last week of July I went on a missions trip to Nicaragua with a group of 24 from my church. Throughout the summer we had collected 350 school packs to take to kids who have not been able to go to school because they simply did not have the supplies. On our trip, we got to personally meet and pass out the packs to the kids, as well as present the gospel, sing songs to, and play with the kids. We did a 3 day VBS in one of the villages, and you could tell it meant the world to them. We fell in love with the kids, their stories, their smiles, and their hearts. I could go on forever about it, but if you wanna hear a story, just ask. I'd be more than happy to tell you a story about the beautiful and loving people of Nicaragua. They have a life that none of us could imagine, but are far more content than most of us.

Exciting as my summer was, I am just as excited about Senior year and being a difference maker in our school! Can't wait to have a great last year with you all!