Today is the 15^th of April, the fourth day of the Freedom Tour. Today was very thought provoking and emotional. In the morning we visited the fields, the woods on the grounds of the Battle of Gettysburg. This was incredibly beautiful considering it was the place of a horrible war.

The things we learned there, while very emotional, didn’t really get through to me until later at Arlington National Cemetery. As we rushed to the top of a very large hill to see the changing of the guards, the rows and rows of white, glossy stones had little to no thought in my mind. But when we walked down the hill after the Changing of the Guard, those glossy rocks had meaning. Every grave was a person with a story and a history, but no future. None of those people would walk home again and hug a loved one, but why? The answer is Freedom. Every person that died had a reason; freedom of rights, freedom of speech, freedom for their families. They died for us, so we could believe in our beliefs, say what we want and raise families the way we want. Walking through the graves I saw the looks in my friend’s faces, watched them fully understand what was around us, and watched as they held back tears.

We finished the night by seeing the Capitol and visiting memorials. We saw the Marines Memorial (Iwa Jima) and learned their stories. The second memorial we saw was the Pentagon Memorial. Again people were grim with the realization and the sadness. Many people sat by themselves or in small groups….thinking. The reason people fight for Freedom so that others can return to their families and be loved. I think this is the reason of the Freedom Tour, so we can realize just what Freedom means. Just because its called Freedom, it isn’t free. ------Ali