Mountaintop Experience

Today we went to the Minnesota Zoo and it was so great! I have not been there since I was in 4th grade. Some of the animals were so funny, some were so beautiful, and some were a bit strange. I loved all the colors of the animals and seeing the smiling faces of children at zoo. Also, we were fed well today! We ate at Chianti Grill for lunch and Bucca di Beppo for dinner. Mm mm good! It has been such a busy week that it is crazy to think that preliminary night is just around the corner. Today we moved into the theater to prepare for the show—and I’ll tell ya, it will be a show.

As we were practicing the opening number I got a little misty-eyed thinking about how I’ve day dreamed being on that stage. I am so grateful that I will be able to share my talent on Thursday evening. For all of you who are attending, I’ll give a little background on the song I will be singing; it is called “Up to the Mountain.” The song is composed by Patty Griffin, one of my favorite artists, and is inspired by Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I’ve been to the mountain top” speech he gave the evening before he was assassinated.

My junior year of college I spent my Spring Break on Bethel’s Sankofa trip. Sankofa means “look back to move forward” and it was a tour of civil rights landmarks throughout the South. One of our first stops was in Memphis, Tennessee to where MLK was assassinated. We were there the 4oth anniversary of his death which made the experience all the more powerful. While we were there we watched a clip of his “mountain top” speech and it gave me chills. He did not prepare the speech, has was just speaking passionately and prophetically. Below is a good clip of the last minute of the speech.

I’ve Been to the Mountaintop

The lyrics of the song “Up to the Mountain” really touch on the importance of persisting when we are tired and when we are afraid—because we are asked to. I truly believe that we are all called, we all have a purpose on this earth and we are to use our gifts to bless others. This is a value my parents have instilled in me and have modeled for me so beautifully with their lives. You may know, I am a finalist for the Quality of Life award. I give all the credit to my parents because they model lives of community service and lives of persisting through tiredness. I’m so blessed to be where I am right now and I cannot say thank you enough to all they people who have helped me on my journey including the rest of my incredible family! Thank you, thank you, thank you!