But why does this happen? Well just imagine what it would be like if we had the opposite of that and that is deflation. If the prices of goods and services fell every year instead of rising, you’d wait to buy whatever you were in the market to buy because its profitable (for you) to wait. You’ll be able to buy the same stuff cheaper tomorrow or next month or next year than today. So it’s great for you but if everyone started doing this, the overall demand for stuff in the economy will fall. If demand falls, businesses that provide us with those products and services will see their revenues and profits fall. That would then lead them to cut expenses with their biggest expense being people. So people will start losing jobs and no job means no income and no money to spend. So the demand reduces even more and the cycle continues downhill until deflation is countered. 

A prime example of what deflation could do to an economy is Japan. Since the bursting of the twin real estate and stock market bubbles in 1989, the economy hasn’t been able to recover. The country is currently stuck in a deflationary spiral ever since where fewer jobs are causing the demand to stagnate with folks delaying the purchase of stuff. Less number of jobs also causes the population to decline because without a job, supporting a family becomes a challenge and hence folks are delaying marriage and having fewer babies. That adds to a further reduction in demand. And when goods are produced at the same rate and the demand is falling, prices drop and the deflationary environment continues. 

Something similar occurred in the United States post the stock market crash of 1929 where a lot of people lost a lot of money, banks closed down, and the entire financial system came to a standstill. Businesses started shutting down, laying off workers setting that process of deflation in motion. Spending in the economy just didn’t stop because of people losing jobs but even the fear of losing jobs caused the rest of the people to shut their wallet tight, further reducing demand. That’s what John Maynard Keynes described as the Paradox of Thrift where it’s great in the long run if people saved money but if they do it all at once, things can get real bad real fast. 

So now we know why we don’t want deflation but what about inflation? Prices of goods and services rise over time but why? That’s because inflation in an economy is sort of intentional and is designed in by the central bank of a country (the Federal Reserve for example in the U.S.). The central bank of a country controls the money supply in such a way that there is always a little more money in the system chasing the same quantity of goods and services in an economy. What does that do? It causes prices to rise by just enough so that demand for stuff in an economy is always present. And because stuff gets more expensive over time due to inflation, people will not wait to buy what they need for better prices tomorrow or next month or next year. This keeps the businesses busy producing the stuff people need, employees employed and economy stable. 

So now that we know that inflation is going to be ever present, how do we make sure that it doesn’t hurt us? I mean how do we keep our purchasing power intact over time so we can buy the same amount or more stuff tomorrow, next month and next year. Inflation rate in the U.S. has historically averaged at around 3% so if we want to make sure that we can buy the same amount or more stuff, we will have to earn more than that over time. Depositing our savings in a bank could be one way but banks don’t usually pay interest more than the rate of inflation. So a better way would be to invest our savings into investments that tend to outpace the rate of inflation over time. And that in theory means owning stakes in businesses that produce the stuff we buy and consume.

For a perfect and well-balanced economy, we don’t want deflation or hyperinflation. Instead, we want something like a goldilocks economy where the prices of goods are not dropping like crazy and not skyrocketing like mad but just right.

Until later.

In order to be able to play at such a high level performing festival, we had to do a lot of work. Last year, our Advanced Orchestra sent an orchestra recording to get accepted for this years National Orchestra Festival. Schools from around the nation sent tapes for this festival but only few got selected. The judges listened to all the recordings and selected 6 middle schools and 16 high schools to compete in the competition. Our group got selected meaning that the Advanced Orchestra this year could perform in the festival. And so the journey starts…

Day 1 – March 7, 2019

I got up at 6:00 am, and soon left for school. All of us still had to go to school and we would depart for the airport once school ended. Before I went to class, I dropped my luggage off in the orchestra room along with everyone else.

School that day went by so slowly. The moment the bell rang, all us orchestra kids went to the orchestra room and started loading buses and instruments (violins + violas). (The cellos and basses would be rented in Albuquerque since it would be a big hassle to carry those instruments onto the plane). We left our school at 2:45 and by 4:30 pm, we had arrived at the airport. At the airport, we started unloading busses and we each grabbed our instruments. We then had to cross the street to get inside the actual building. It looked really crazy because there was just 70 of us just crossing the street with our luggage. Once we crossed the street, Mr. Conway, our conductor, gave us our boarding passes.

After we got our boarding passes, we went inside the airport, checked in our luggage, and went through security check. Once that was over, we had free time to ourselves till 7:30. We all had to eat dinner at someplace in the airport before the flight had to board. My friends and I ate at this super duper over priced pizza place. I got the margarita pizza which had tomatoes, cheese, and garlic on it. It tasted pretty good except, like I said, it was overpriced.

Once we ate dinner, we all waited near our gate. Since there were roughly 70 of us, there were not even close to enough seats to fit us all. We all just ended up sitting on the ground and it looked hilarious!

At 7:40, we boarded the plane. All the chaperones helped us put our instruments in the overhead bins. By 8 pm, we took off. Once we had reached 10,000 feet, the plane assistants came and gave us drinks and a packet of ritz crackers. The plane ride was only three hours and by 11 pm, we had reached…

We then claimed our baggage from the conveyor belt and got ready to go to the Double Tree Hotel which we would be staying in for the next few days. The hotel was right next to the convention center which is where we would perform and eat (most of the time).

At 12:00 am, we got our room keys for the hotel and went to our room. My friends that were rooming with me were Claris, Chantale, and Sanjana. Our room was on the highest floor of the hotel, the 15th floor. By 12:30, we changed into our PJs, took a shower, and slept.

Day 2 – March 8, 2019

Sanjana, Claris, Chantale, and I got up at 7:30 for we had to be downstairs by 8 am. We took our time and changed and suddenly at 7:40, our hotel phone rang. Our friends screamed through the phone saying where are you? All four of us in the room were so confused. They told us that we had to be down at 7:30! We all panicked, immediately changed our clothes, and ran downstairs. I didn’t even comb my hair or wash my face.

As soon as we reached the hotel lobby, we went outside the hotel with our group and crossed the street to go to the convention center for breakfast. At the convention center, I ate a toast and some potatoes.

After breakfast at 9 am, we went to a hall in the convention center. There, we listened to three other middle schools perform. The first and third groups we listened to were not really good. The second group was pretty good and I am sure they got a lot of good comments from the adjudicators.

At 12 pm, we went to the other side of the convention center and ate lunch. Lunch was really good. There were hard tacos, soft tacos, and best of all, chocolate cake.

After lunch, we had to go back to the hotel and change into our concert dress. This was the big day we had been working hard for. At 1:30 sharp, all of us were downstairs in the hotel lobby and once the last people reached, we went back to the convention center.

We went to the warm up room at 2 pm and warmed up till 2:45. At 3 pm, we walked onto the stage in our very best behaviors. I went to my seat near the podium and within a few minutes, we started our performance. The pieces we played were Saint Paul’s Suite 1st Movement Jig (Holst), Chapter One (Nunez), Rock Canyon Club (Silva), The Faraway Place (Hofeldt), and Vanishing Pointe (Meyer). At about 3:30 pm, we had finished our performance. We sat on the stage till 3:45 and headed to the clinic room after that.

The clinic room was where a judge would work with you and give you some tips on your music. Our clinician was Terry Shade. She was extremely energetic and her feedback wasn’t very useful. Once the clinic was over, we packed our instruments, headed back to the hotel, and changed out of our concert dress.

At 6 pm, all of us were told to come downstairs and we were going to head out for dinner. We went to eat at a restaurant called Bucca di Beppo.

When we entered the restaurant, there was a section sectioned off for our group. We took a seat and they started us of with some salad. Once the salad was over, they served us red sauce and white sauce spaghetti. For desert, they gave us cheesecake. The food was really good and tasty and I definitely recommend this place. At 8 pm, we left the restaurant and headed back to the convention center.

At the convention center, there was a late night event for students. The purpose of the event was to meet other students from other schools. When we arrived there, there were lots of food (popcorn, candy, fruits, cookies), small toys, and glow sticks. The event was really boring because everyone was just doing their own thing. At 9 pm, Sanjana, Chantale, Claris, and I decided to go back to our hotel. We watched some youtube, took a shower, and slept at 11:30 pm.

Day 3 – March 9, 2019

We got up at 7 am, and finished breakfast by 8:30. The breakfast wasn’t as good as the other days. All there was was some juice and granola bars. Once we finished breakfast, our whole group along with the other schools waited outside Ballroom C. Today was the day we would find out what place we got in the competition.

As we entered the room, the coordinators and judges gave a small little speech and then they began the ceremony. They started by giving each group participation trophies. Then they started with the actual awards. My hands were sweating and my phone was ready to record. They first announced 3rd place and it wasn’t us. We all thought the 3rd place group was really good so I didn’t have high hopes for us. Then they went to 2nd place. “The group that got 2nd place goes to the Hopkins…” and that is all we needed to hear. We all jumped up out of seats and started screaming. I couldn’t believe we had gotten 2nd place! Mr. Conway went up to the stage along with two of the best musicians in our orchestra. They picked up our 2nd place trophy and brought it down to the audience.

The rest of the award ceremony was really boring because they went through all the high school groups and it took a long time. After the award ceremony, we got to eat lunch in the exhibit hall. There was pasta, cookies, bread, and salad. I finished lunch by 12:30 and after, we got to look around in the exhibit hall. There were lots of amazing instruments to try out.

At 2 pm, our group decided to go back to our room and rest. At exactly 2:50 pm, all the groups that performed in the National Orchestra festival were called to the Awards Concert. The two groups that played at the concert were the middle school 1st place group and high school 1st place group. The middle school group that won 1st place was from Las Vegas, Nevada. Their pieces were really good and I am pretty sure they also won 1st last year.

By 5 pm, the concert for the 1st place groups were over and we went back to the hotel. At 6:30 pm, we went back downstairs and hoped into the buses. We were going to Dave and Busters for dinner! At Dave and Busters, my friends and I sat at a table and played some cards while we waited for our pizza and fries.

After eating for 30 min, Mr. Conway gave us cards with money loaded onto them to play in the arcade. At first, I played car racing and basketball games. I soon realized that those games didn’t even give any tickets. I then went to the game where you spin the wheel and I earned so many tickets from that. Before we left, I traded in my tickets for some prizes; a pineapple water bottle, a donut plushie, and a cake plushie.

We reached our hotel by 9:30 pm and we were told to pack our suitcases since we were going back home the next day. I packed my suitcase, took a shower, and slept at 11 pm.

Day 4 – March 10, 2019

Sanjana, Claris, Chantale, and I got up at 6:30 am, got dressed, and headed downstairs. For breakfast, we had to eat the food provided by the hotel. I attempted making myself some toast for breakfast but I messed up so many times. The first time I put the toast in the toaster, I didn’t know how to pop it out. The second time, the button that pops the toast up did not work. And the third time, I waited to long and the toast got burned again. Finally, the fourth time, the toast came out perfectly.

After breakfast, we went to our room to get our suitcase and our instruments. At 8:30, we started loading busses and at 9:40, we reached the Albuquerque International Airport. After checking in bags and going through security check and all that stuff, we had till 11:30 am to do whatever we wanted. Our whole group first headed to the terminal. Other folks at the airport saw us carrying our instruments and they asked if we could play a song for them. Immediately we said yes, unpacked our instruments, and started playing our whole set of music. People around us started video taping and I felt like a movie star.

After playing our set of music, we packed our instruments and some of us decided to get some Panda Express for lunch. At 11:30 am, we boarded our plane and within 3 hours, we were back at school :(.

I had such an amazing time in Albuquerque with all my friends and never thought I would get a chance to participate in a National Competition. I want to thank Mr. Conway, for all his hard work and dedication in helping us achieve a 2nd place award and taking the time to organize such a well-planned trip.

And here are some more pictures from the trip…

I wanted to buy another pair of shoes but my parents were not in the same boat as me. They didn’t refuse to buy me another pair but they were not too happy as I hadn’t even worn them for long. They told me that I should bring this up with Adidas Customer Service to see if they can do something about my shoes and the journey starts…

On December 26, a month after my shoes ripped, I called Adidas Customer Service. I never talked to like a professional person or whatever you call them so I was kind of nervous. I called them and told them that my shoes ripped and asked if they could do something about that. The person I was talking to made me write them an email stating all the information about my shoes like the code number, etc. They said they would get back to me ASAP.

A month after I wrote the email, I didn’t get any response back and I was still wearing the torn up shoe. I called them back and this time, the person gave me a shipping label. The label was supposed to be taped onto a box with my shoes inside of it. The shoes with a hole in it would get shipped to the Adidas Headquarters. Once the shoes arrived there, the people would send me an electronic gift card with a FULL REFUND of the shoes.

I shipped the shoes to the Adidas Headquarters on Jan 28, 2019 and in less than 2 weeks, I got a $70 gift card through my email. I was shocked. I thought they would never send me a gift card but they actually did.

The next day, I found the shoes I wanted and order them. The shoes I wanted were $140 (way out of my budget). When I went to buy them however, they were 50% of making them $70. My gift card would take care of the $70 and we would only have to pay tax (about $5). When we were checking out, my mom had an Adidas coupon that gave an additional 15% off. So cool right!!! Then the shoes costed about $60 and with $5 tax, the total cost of the shoe was $65. I used the gift card to buy the shoes and at the end, I still had $5 left on the gift card.

These shoes arrived on February 12, 2019, and they are sooooo comfortable. So why would Adidas offer such a great customer experience? Because Adidas knew I am a teenager and my value to them is huge. The technical term for that is Customer Lifetime Value or CLTV. Imagine now I will talk about this to my friends and my friends will talk to their friends and so on. Plus I will likely remain a customer with them for life. Because I know that if something goes wrong with my shoes, I can just give them a call and they will do whatever it takes to make sure their customer is happy and always has a pair or two of shoes to wear.

Cover image credit – Shawn Arron, Flickr

Day 1 – December 22, 2018

I got up at 6 am on December 22nd and was ready to hit the road by 8 for Arnold, CA. The total drive time from home was about 3 hours. Till about an hour away from the destination, I hardly saw any snow and assumed that I wouldn’t get to do any snowy stuff once I was there. But that changed suddenly when we approached Arnold, CA where we saw a lot of snow everywhere. The sides of the roads were covered with snow and it looked like we were in a winter wonderland.

But before we reached Arnold, we wanted to do lunch because we were so hungry. And Stockton, CA was on our way so we thought we’ll find a place to eat there. While searching online, we came across a very old Sikh temple. And Sikh temple means langar, a kitchen open to anyone who wants to eat. Plus the food is pure vegetarian, a key determinant when we want to find a place to eat. I was hesitant to go into the temple because I felt bad about eating free food, but regardless, we went anyways.

I wasn’t expecting much, but the food was actually really good. There was some great Indian food, soda, and best of all, popcorn. Before leaving, we left some tip at the temple and were back on the road.

At around 1 pm, we reached our cabin where we were to stay. The cabin was divided into 2 houses and we stayed in the bottom half. The home had a small pool table and lots of games. There were 2 bedrooms, one for me and my sister, and the other for my parents. It was a wood cabin and was really cute and cozy.

The rest of the day, we stayed in the cabin, watched some TV, and ate snacks. At around 9 pm, we went to sleep because the next day we had to rise up early to go skiing.

Day 2 – December 23, 2018

We got up at 9 am, ate breakfast, and wore all our ski gear. We put on our padded socks, waterproof overalls, ski jackets, and snow boots. We reached the Bear Valley Ski resort at around 11 am, and within about 30 minutes or so, we hit the slopes.

I started off with the easy slopes before lunch with my sister and later went on the steeper ones by myself. And while on those slopes, I got lost a few times because there were so many paths to go down. I eventually found my way and ended up back down.

4 pm is when the resort closes for the night so we went back to our cabin. For dinner, we ate pizza and then watched a lot of T.V. because that’s the only time we get to violate rules. I slept pretty early because the following day, our friends would be coming over to join us.

Day 3 – December 24, 2018

We all got up at 8 am, got ready, and left for the same ski resort. I was excited because this time, I would be skiing with my friends. Once we reached the resort, our friends were waiting for us and we started off with the blue diamond (intermediate) slope. And some of those were pretty steep and rough but most were great.

After skiing for more than 5 hours, we went back to our cabin and they went to theirs. As soon as I came to the cabin, I took a shower and ate some yummy pasta my dad made. We slept early again to get ready for ski the next day.

Day 4 – December 25, 2018

In the morning, we went skiing for the last time and again with my friends. On the way to the resort, it was snowing heavily and the roads were really slippery.

At the resort, my friends and I decided to go take on the black diamond slopes. At first it was really hard because the snow was really soft and powdery. After skiing a few times, I kind of got the hang of it. I did fall a couple of times but that was pretty much it. After we finished skiing, we played with snowballs and it was actually really fun. I did get hit a few times but that was that.

At about 4 pm, we left the resort and since it was Christmas day, there were not many places open to eat. So once again, we found another Sikh temple but the food here wasn’t as tasty but I was fine with it. After dinner, our friends and us went our separate ways home.

Day 1: May 17, 2018

I got up early in the morning around 5:15 am to get ready for the long bus ride. We had to reach school at 6:15 am and I couldn’t be a single second late otherwise I would have to serve bench time in Disneyland. I left the house at 5:45 am even though I knew we would reach long before 6:15. When we reached the school, I checked in with my chaperone, dropped my suitcase of, dropped my instrument of, and received my name tag. The name tag we received was to be worn at all times except while sleeping (and the shower of course). At around 7:00 am, we departed the school and headed for Disneyland. I thought the ride was going to be way longer than I expected but it wasn’t actually that long. We had frequent rest stops along the way.

Before heading straight to our hotel in Arcadia, we went to meet a famous composer who I played atleast 6 pieces by. I meet Richard Meyer!!! Richard Meyer creates many pieces and they all sound really good. My favorite piece by him is called Minotaur, half man half bull. Anyways, we had a clinic with Richard Meyer and he helped us work on Minotaur for our upcoming festival the next day. Meyer helped us fix some dynamics and bowing.

After the clinic with Richard Meyer we went to the food court to eat dinner. I couldn’t find anything to eat so I decided to eat tacos from Chipotle. As I was eating Chipotle I needed to get a napkin and when I turned my head, guess what I saw… milk tea!!! I love milk tea so right before we left the mall, I decided to get myself some tea.

Once we left the food court, it was about 8:30 and we then drove to the Embassy Suits Hotel in Arcadia. At the hotel, we changed into our P.Js and went to bed.

.  .  .

Day 2: May 18, 2018

I got up in the morning around 8:00 and went down to eat breakfast in the hotel. Lots of my other friends were there and we combined 3 tables together so all of us could fit. For breakfast, I ate toast and a glass of milk. My friends and I ate breakfast till 9 am and then went back to our room to get ready. Today was the big day and main reason we went to Disneyland. Today was the day were we get to perform in front of judges and get a rating. Anyways we changed into our concert dress which was a black shirt and black dress pants. I then packed my suitcase up because after dinner, we were going to a hotel right next to Disneyland.

At 11 am, we checked out of the first hotel, loaded the buses, and were off to eat lunch at the shopping mall again. Sanjana and I found this restaurant called Sbarro and it was pretty good.

Caption: This is me eating my Spaghetti from Sbarro.

Before leaving the mall I bought myself another milk tea. We departed the mall at 1pm and then headed to the location to where we were performing. Before performing, we warmed up, tuned and then headed on stage. We performed 2 pieces, one slow one and a fast one. We performed Water Reflection by Yukiko Nishimura and Minotaur by Richard Meyer. Overall our pieces were good but could have been a little better.

Once the performance was over, we loaded the buses and headed for dinner. Once again we went to the food court and I ate some salad from Sbarro. I wan’t really hungry so the salad filled me up. We ate dinner by 8:30 and then headed to a new hotel in Anaheim that was close to Disneyland. By 9:00 we checked into our rooms and went to bed.

.  .  .

Day 3: May 19, 2018

Ding ding ding… ding ding ding. Our alarms rang at 5:00 am because we had to be downstairs all ready for the day by 6:30. I couldn’t even open my eyes because it was still pitch black outside. I got up really slowly and went to take a shower. Once my friends and I were all ready, we went downstairs to eat breakfast. Again I ate a toast and a glass of milk. Around 7:15 we loaded the buses and today we were going to go to California Adventures. At 4pm we were going to go to Disneyland and then going to attend the awards ceremony.

The bus ride to California Adventures was only 2 minutes long and before I knew it we were in the park. I had never been to California Adventures so my friends took me on many rides. They told me that drop tower was the best ride and dragged me along with them. The ride was the worst thing ever. I thought the drop wouldn’t be so bad but they took us so high and dropped us all the way down. In the drop down, I clinged onto my friends jacket so tightly. At the last drop of drop tower, they took us all the way at the top of the building, opened the window so we could see all of Disneyland, and then dropped us 300 feet down. After the ride was over we went to Grizzly River. This ride was really fun except that I got soaked. There were only small drops but at the bottom of the drops half of us used to get wet. I got wet many times and by the time we got of the ride I was drenched. After that, we decided to go the Cars ride.

Caption: This is the Cars Ride we went on.

The Cars Ride was basically a race between 2 cars at high speeds. It was really fun and I wanted to go again. After a couple more rides we ate lunch. For lunch, Sanjana and I shared a bowl of rice and edamame.

At 4pm, we met up with our chaperones and moved to Disneyland. At Disneyland, we went to the gift shop and looked at all the overpriced things. I wanted to get a matching sweatshirt with my friends but it was way overpriced ($60). Eventually Sanjana and I decided to get matching bracelets with our names engraved on them. By then it was 5:30 and we had to be at the award ceremony by 6:30. We looked for some places to eat dinner at but couldn’t find any. It was almost 6:15 so we just decided to eat corn on the cob. After finishing our meal, we headed to the award ceremony with our entire orchestra.

Caption: The festival we competed in was called Music in the Parks.

Soon enough they started the awards ceremony. They first gave the awards to choir and then started with the orchestra. I nervously sat in my chair hoping that our group would get first place.

“Middle School Orchestra in 1st place. With a rating of Superior,” continued the judge, “double A, with a rating of Superior HOPKINS JUNIOR HIGH!!!” Yes I yelled. We got 1st place. All the kids from Hopkins went crazy and were jumping up and down. Eventually all the trophies were given out and our school got 6 trophies all for 1st place. There was a 1st place Advanced Orchestra (the group I perform in), 1st place Symphonic Band trophy, 1st place Jazz Ensemble trophy, 1st place Wind Ensemble trophy, 1st place solo trophy for orchestra, and lastly 1st place trophy for the Jazz solo. We couldn’t have gotten all these awards if we didn’t have our conductor Mr. Conway. After the award ceremony, we went got 2 more hours in Disneyland till 10:30. My friends and I really didn’t want to go on any rides mainly because it was pitch black and half of us were still wet from the Grizzly ride in the morning. We all found a table near the Coca Cola shop, sat down, and just talked.

At 10:30 we checked in with our chaperone, departed Disneyland and headed for the hotel. In the hotel, my friends and I stayed up until the room check and then went to sleep. Everyday before we slept, the chaperones would come around the rooms and check to make sure all the members of the room are present. Once we shut the door, they would put a strip of tape across the door and the wall. In the morning the chaperones would come to collect the tape and if the tape on your door was ripped that would tell the chaperones that you went outside of your room in the night. If Mr. Conway found out that you went outside of your room in the night, lets just say that won’t end well.

.  .  .

Day 4: May 20, 2018

Today we had to be out of our bed by 6:30 and downstairs for breakfast. Well…there was a slight problem. My friends and I set 7 alarms and we slept through all of them. Every single one of them. We were so tired from the previous nights that we could barely get up in time. At 6:26 am Diya went to get her phone to check what time it was and immediately woke us up. We jumped out of bed, changed really fast, and ran downstairs. I don’t think I even combed my hair. I ate breakfast and then headed to the busses with my friends. Today was a really fun day. We were going to spend the whole day in Disneyland from 7:30 am to 12:00 am. Thats about 15 hours!!!

When we reached Disneyland, I got my ticket from my chaperone and then went of with my group of friends. We first went on the rides my friends said was really good. We went on Matter horn which was really good and Space Mountain.

Caption: This is the Matterhorn Mountain ride. There are no drops but the roller coaster goes at high speeds and is amazing. I would highly recommend this ride.

When I went to Space Mountain, I was really scared in the begining. I got on the ride and they took us uphill 3 times. I was waiting for a tremendous drop every time the roller coaster went up but instead there were no drops. There were only small drops and and you couldn’t see what was ahead. It was pitch black and all you see are these tiny lights. I loved Space Mountain.

After a while, we went on Splash Mountain. I know, lots of mountains! In Splash Mountain, you sit in a log without any seat belts or lapbars. Along the journey, there is a fifty-foot drop and if you sit near the front (that’s where I sat), you get drenched. After going on many rides, we ate lunch. My friends and I went to this place where we ate a kids meal. The meal came with cheese pizza, yogurt, fruit, and juice. The lunch was ok and after that we went on many more rides. I don’t remember the names of all the rides but all I know was that we went on a lot of them.

At 7 pm, we ate corn on the cob again for dinner. My friends and I had to eat a fast dinner because we had a fast pass for Indiana Jones that was at 7:30. My friends told me that in Indiana Jones there was going to be a big drop so I was kinda nervous at first. When we got into the cart for Indiana Jones, I sat in the middle of my 9 friends. At the end there of the ride there was this huge ball coming toward you and then we dropped. I held on the lap bar so tight. I was so ready for the big drop. The cart tilted downward and we dropped 5 feet. I thought the drop was going to be atleast 50 feet and it wasn’t even half that amount. Indiana Jones was meh but they could have made it more exciting by adding a bigger drop.

Once it got dark, Disneyland had a fireworks show. It was pretty cool and I actually like it. After that show we took a break and sat down. At 11pm we decided to go back to Matterhorn since the line was only 30 min long. We were about to get into the cart when I got a phone call from a chaperone. She said it was time to head out of Disney and get back to the hotel. I got kinda bummed because I was just about the get on the ride when I got the call. My friends and I headed for the exit and all of the kids from our school departed Disney and headed for the hotel.

.  .  .

Day 5: May 22, 2018

My friends and I got up at 7 am. We all got dressed and went down for breakfast. Today was the worst day of the whole trip because we were heading back home. After eating breakfast, I packed my suitcase and went to my friends room to relax. We had till 10 am to be packed and downstairs and it was only 9 am. At 10 am, all of my friends headed downstairs in the elevator and soon enough we loaded the busses. Within the next hour or so we were on the road.

Caption: This is all of us heading back on the bus at one of the rest stops.

At lunch time, I ate at taco bell with Claris, Chantale, and Sanjana. Sanjana and I both ate some nachos. By 6pm that evening we were back at the school. I was really sad to be back home but I know I’ll get to go again on this trip next year!