What a wonderful week it has been! Although getting here was rough, being here has been nothing less than amazing. The things that I have learned in the last five days are things I will hold onto for a very long time. Upon arrival I knew that Portland is a city I would fall in love with. Despite being in a crowded airport, I found beauty beyond the glass of the terminal. Where I am from, there are very few spots where you can find true nature. By that I mean big trees, running water, and hills that leave you wondering whats on top. As I stood in that airport I saw trees bigger than any building I’d ever seen, hills that looked like mountains to me, and in the far distance I could see a rather large body of water. I was physically seeing things that up until that point, only my dreams made real.

I saw BIG, BEAUTIFUL trees.

The next four days that would unfold before me were some of the best days this summer has had to offer. I saw some many different walks of life, and realized that those people thought the same of me. Portland, Oregon is no Fort Wayne, Indiana…that I learned fairly quickly. I won’t take up too much of your time by giving you a hour by hour walk through of each day there, but I will sum up the things that are forever embedded into my mind.

Wherever I go in this world, I always remind myself to learn something. Learn something that you’ve never learned before, see things you might not ever see again, and talk to people who don’t know who you are, let them be your teachers. My dear friend and I took each day as it came, sure we had things planned but by no means were we locked into those plans. The beauty of Portland is something I wish everyone could see at some point in their life. They have the big trees, many bodies of flowing water, and those hills that leave you wondering whats on top. They have all of that, and more. Portland to me is a platform where dreams are drawn up, things become real, and the people identify themselves as their own.

As soon as the plane landed, I knew I was somewhere that was going to be very hard to leave. I have learned so much on this trip. I have learned that I need to go to different places to learn different things. Portland, Oregon will forever be the place that has taught me to appreciate those hills, mountains, valleys and rivers, because they are not everywhere.

It has taught me that I should always wonder what is on top of those hills.