A few weeks ago, my friends and I drove to Washington DC to see the cherry blossoms bloom. This was our chance to get off campus and enjoy our time far away from work. Together we all woke up at 6 in the morning, grabbed some breakfast, and headed down to DC. Lucky for us, it was a beautiful day and it seemed as though everyone was finally in good spirits. With this trip, everyone was able to forget all their troubles about school work and really enjoy themselves. Unfortunately, the cherry blossoms were not blooming at this point in time, but there were some trees with beautiful flowers so we got to take many photos with those trees. Because Bryn Mawr's flowers during this time had not bloomed at all yet, this trip was really special for us.

Despite having lived in America all my life, I had never been to Washington DC before! I have seen the white house only in pictures, and all the monuments would appear in movies. Besides that, I have never seen these sights in person. My friends from Japan were surprised by this fact! I joked with them saying that it was now, at the age of 22, that I had finally become an American by coming to see these historical sights. Though it was a joke, it had really felt that way considering I don't really know much about historical landmarks. Even though this was a Japanese Student Association event, we all felt like we were participating in a very American experience.

I was really happy with this trip because it felt as though it had been a really long time since I've seen everyone's smiling faces. When we are at school, most of us are stuck in the library or in our rooms due to the amount of work we have. It's hard to be a college student, especially at Bryn Mawr, where the work is so rigorous. We all really care about our grades so it's hard to press pause once in a while and remember to smell the fresh air. Fortunately, this trip was that fresh breath of air for all of us and exactly the medicine we needed. When we got back, everyone seemed to have the face that said "Okay. I'm ready to finish. Let's do this!!"