Washington vs. Whittier middle School

The girls were anxious to begin the trip, but now as the first night comes to a close it's widely known that everyone is exhausted. Red in the face (from the sun of course), grumpy by all mean and just plain tired. Getting accustomed to a new area is always difficult, but with the humid heat and little experience in the area, maps of all colors became our new best friend. Water bottles in hand, pins hanging from all the girls necks and the race was on. Here at NHD boys and girls all over the world find common ground very quickly when it comes first to their passion of history and second get as many new pins from as many new places as possible. Kids literally sigh when they realize the state you're from is already shown on their cord.

The speaker was amazing; a former NHD contestant herself she knew the drills; from research to traveling tips. Yet as soon as she spoke the girls attested to feeling goose bumps from her positive words and aspirations. Of the 600,000 contestants who originally competed the crowd there that night made up 2,900 .05% of those who had the same dream as they did. Whether or not these girls pass first round and continue on and the big scheme of competition doesn't take away from how far they have traveled. If the girls somewhere between the bad landing and one too many metro rides had lost grip of what brought them here they were soon reminded. The girls are revved up and ready to speak up for their soft and hidden topics. Raising a voice for issues that need to be brought back into light is why these girls are here.

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