Dear SYF,

A lot of people, when they first hear about this trip, may have felt like they were not missing out on much …

I first heard about this trip in seventh grade and I absolutely knew I wanted to go. It felt impossible to come up with the amount of money this trip cost at first, but Mr. Rainey had complete faith that if I wanted to go, I could do it and I was going—and he gave me faith I could go, too.

I found out that there was a scholarship available and I jumped at the shot for it. The moment I went to one of the meetings for the East Coast trip, every day of U.S. history after that was in a different perspective.

Every day, I could come to class with my head up or down and get completely excited about getting to physically experience what we were learning about. My favorite parts of the East Coast trip were just traveling, New York City—I just love being in different places with many different ways. I also enjoyed, very much, the dinner we had with the Amish family. It was such an unforgettable experience—just nothing like it.

This all encouraged me to continue to get good grades and now, I’m in high school. I work to keep my goal going for accomplishing my good grades.

I now feel like my horizons are expanding—the hope that if I want something, I can get it. If I want to go to college in New York City or in California, or Los Angeles, I can do that. This helps me focus on staying determined.

Where I come from doesn’t matter, I’m ready to start my journey on making a difference in this world, and to explore and succeed. So, help like yours with my scholarship means more than something. I appreciate any and everyone who supported and helped me go on this trip.

Thank you so much. You give me inspiration.

I just think it is so cool what you have going on.

Sincerely,

Briahna Ruth