JFK Library and Freedom Trail

May 15th- Sia and Isabel

Our second day in Boston was a great day to relate to our cycle theme of “Foundations”. We visited multiple historic sites and were able to experience the lifestyle of those who lived in Boston during the American Revolution as well as WWII and the Civil Rights Movement. We started off the day at the JFK Library, where we learned about the things JFK changed for the better and how much he cared for the people of his country. Though he served a short term, the impact he made on the world will be captured in his beautiful memorial library. This related back to our trip to the south last year in which we learned about how much JFK fought for equality of all people through the Peace Corps. Our tour guide Sam took us through many exhibits and was very informative and provided us with very interesting details about the life of President John F. Kennedy, such as primary documents from his term in the office as well as audio recordings of him during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Through these presentations we got an inside look on his diplomatic thought process and how he guided Americans through the time period. After we visited the JFK Library, we took a trip to the Boston Commons to walk the Freedom Trail. We had a tour guide in character whose name was Elizabeth, and as she explained, was the first woman to ever sign a prenuptial agreement. During the tour we visited multiple sites which we had all individually learned about prior to the trip. We also learned about the heroics and bravery the founding fathers took upon themselves to create our society today. One of the first stops was at a cemetery were the tour guide talked about the Puritans and how their lifestyle and religious persecution across the seas led them to shape Boston the way they did. But the main topic of the tour was Paul Revere and his iconic Midnight Ride which was written about by Longfellow, and was a foundation of the American Revolution because it brought the colonists together to face one oppressive enemy, the British crown. After we finished up the tour and visited the Paul Revere house along with the Old North church, we practiced our independence skills by having a free choice of dinner at Quincy Market. We were each given $15 dollars and an hour to go about and find dinner for ourselves as well as stick together with our peers. After a hot day in the sun, with some rain towards the end, we returned to our hotel rooms for a night of card games and a trip to the gym for some.