The 2011 Eagle Pass trip was my second time to go down there.  The first time wasn't as eye-opening as the second time because on the first trip I had a lot of my friends with me and my parents were there, and so it was somewhat distracting and I wasn't focusing on what we were down there for.  This year was different.  I was there with mainly adults with the exception of a few kids, and it definitely made a difference because I wanted to show the adults that I'm not just a kid and that I can really help with things and I can help make a difference!

 

This year in Eagle Pass we held a book fair at a local community library and we went to the Kickapoo Indian Reservation.  While we were at the Kickapoo Reservation, we had a mini book fair and we played games with the kids and we let all the kids have some books from the Bookmobile.  While I was on the Bookmobile there were a couple of girls about my age (14-15) and one girl picked up a book and the other one said, "You can't read that book!  That's second grade reading level and you're on a first grade reading level like me!"  It took me a moment to realize that they seriously could not read.

I grew up reading and being read to as a child!  My mom is a former English teacher and current librarian.  I was on a first grade reading level when I started kindergarten!  This was eye-opening to me.  It showed me that I've had a lot of wonderful opportunities in life and they haven't.  This is why Literacy Connexus is such a wonderful thing.  Things that I never thought about before this trip started occurring to me, such as the reading students at my school.  Ms. White is the reading teacher at my school and she has about 15 students.  What that means is that lacking the ability to read is not something that only happens in the poorest counties in America; it happens everywhere and there are things that everyone can be doing to help!

I'm really glad that I got the opportunity to go on this trip this year.  It was a fantastic experience and I had a lot of fun!  I got to learn and grow as a person.  If we helped even one person on the trip, then we helped one more than we would've helped if we had not gone down there.  I can't wait to go again next year!