A Nine Year Old's Dream

Early during the school year when I was in fourth grade, Mrs. Carpenter had each of her students choose a pencil with the name of a state on it. Projects throughout the year would revolve around the chosen state. I remember my pencil was orange and the blue letters on it read ARIZONA.

I wrote to the tourism office in Arizona requesting information on the state for my first project. I received a large envelope full of brochures with beautiful pictures, including many of the Grand Canyon. I had never seen a picture of that beautiful place. Recalling this process reminds me of how different doing classwork was before the internet. To see a picture of the Grand Canyon you had to find an encyclopedia with color pictures at the library!

Ever since I was nine years old I have wanted to visit this beautiful and magnificent natural wonder in Arizona. Last week I attended a conference on Hispanic Ministry and had the opportunity to visit the western rim of the Grand Canyon which is owned by the Hualapi Native American Tribe. I didn’t let the opportunity pass. It was the dream of a nine year old come true, twenty-two years later!