Today, while the blossoms still cling to the vine, I'll taste your strawberry and drink your sweet wine, a million tomorrows shall all pass away er I forget all the joy that is ours, today. A day filled with many emotions as we woke up to our last "wakey wakey" and shake your sillies out wake up call. We got to sleep in until 7 am, which made us all a little bit happier and sad as this would be the last time we got to wake up next to each other. We hopped on the bus one last time as the reality set in that this truly was out last ride together. We headed to our first stop of the day...our last Walmart run for the cooks to get food for the day, breakfast and lunch to share with all of our friends. After enjoying muffins and apple juice for breakfast we made our way through Tennessee and headed back into North Carolina. Finally back in North Carolina, we stopped at a rest stop for a quick bathroom break before heading to our next stop where we cleaned the bus and vans out. The rides today have been full of songs, laughter, sharing memories of the past 23 days, NO NAPPING, and maybe some tears were shed too. Our next stop was to organize all of our belongings to make it easier for our families to pick us up. At this stop we also started saying our goodbyes to all of our new family.
Many tears were shed because we can't imagine not spending every day together. Even though we are excited to see our family at the next stop (and maybe even perform a song or two) we will never forget the experiences and memories we have made together.
Teens Westward Bound has been an incredible experience for everyone involved. We have learned more about ourselves, each other, and our beautiful country than we ever imagined possible. We have formed a family and we know these friendships will last a lifetime. Thank you Trip 1, 2023 for giving us the best experience that allowed us to step out of our comfort zone and find who we truly are. We love you Teens Westward Bound... no matter how grumpy we are.
