L’Taken Reflections

Hannah Brooks

L’Taken was an experience of a lifetime. I for sure know I definitely want to go back. As a girl who cares about social justice, I loved it and yes it had its faults but, it changed my whole life. Writing my speech was a very big accomplishment. It was also amazing working with Alexandra. Let’s start from the beginning. Friday night was a really great night. Lovely Friday night services and an amazing speaker who I can never forget. He taught us about homelessness and his story, his name was Donald Whitehead. He not only told his story verbally but visually. The next day was a very powerful and fun day. We went to our first elective, mine was criminal justice and we went to the Holocaust Museum. For someone who had never been, it was powerful and beautifully thought out and everything is with intention. Yes, this trip is not all about the Holocaust Museum, but, I learned so much. The next stop was MLK Memorial. That was awesome. The next stop was Georgetown and we had so much fun. We also did simulations, I don’t remember when and what days, but, we did a simulation on money and getting money for food, and one on gun control and getting your message across. Then, Sunday, we went to the Newseum, did our second elective, mine was reproductive rights. The next step was our speeches and it took about 3 hours. You got a deadline and they had to get approved. The next day was Capitol Hill and it was awesome. I got to speak personally after the group to one of Diane Feinstein’s judiciary legislative aids and I plan to work with them more. Thank you for having me.