FNN Takes Dallas: Day 3
Day 3: November 18th, 2017
A knock on the door from Flo woke me up one hour after I was supposed to get up and start getting ready. I’d forgotten to reset my alarm and had only 45 minutes to get ready, make it down to the lobby and eat my breakfast. I hurried and got dressed, brushed my teeth, and started to take out my hair with Tsion’s help. After Tsion helped me, I gave him my order for breakfast and did my last run around the room to make sure I had everything packed. I took my last glances at the view and savored it. The bridge outside our window showed all the cars coming in and out of the city. It was a perfect spot to view the sunset and sunrise, with the reunion tower directly in front of us which was awesome. I snapped a few last minute pictures of the view and hotel room, grabbed the hotel keys, and headed downstairs. When I got down to the lobby Tsion had my breakfast tea, parfait and chocolate croissant in hand. I thanked him and started eating my breakfast. When 8:30 hit, we gave our baggage to the bellhops and started walking to the convention. We broke off into our separate groups before going to our first workshops. Ariana, Tsion and I stayed together for all day which I enjoyed because I was the most comfortable with them. From 9-1, we went to about 4-5 different workshops involving photography, graphic design and yearbook. After our final workshop, we all met up in the conference lobby and headed to the food trucks. I got a veggie bowl from a Asian food truck and it was amazing! The best food I had on the trip by far. After we all ate we headed back to hotel to claim our baggage from the bellhops. It took much longer than expected and we starting to push time. Our flight started boarding at 445pm. It was now 3:40pm and the airport was a 30 minute drive. We ordered two Ubers and took off to the airport. We made it to the airport, through security and to our flight gate JUST in time with literally one minute to spare. Unfortunately, we all got split up and spread throughout the plane so I wasn’t sitting near anyone I knew. Although we were separated, I sat next to two nice men, once of whom was in the navy and was coming home from Japan. He gave me some Japanese Macha Green Tea KitKats which had a really interesting taste. During the rest of the flight, I watched movies, typed my journal entry and listened to music. I also took pictures of the beautiful sunset while we were in the sky. Around 9:10 we had a bumpy landing back into the city. After we all grabbed our bags from the overhead and exited the plane together, we headed the baggage claim where Mr. Foster and Tsion’s bags were. My mom was waiting for me on the outside of the area, so I asked Foster to walk me out after saying my goodbyes to the group. As soon as I got home, I dropped my duffle bag by the door and changed into comfortable clothes. Once I was comfortable, I told my family about my trip and how much I enjoyed it. Afterwards, I ended my night on the phone so I could tell my friends how much I loved Dallas. I'm so thankful for the opportunity to be able to go to Dallas, learn new things and experience new people. I'll remember this trip and the moments shared forever. -Kiani Bell
Our third and final day in Texas was a great ending to our journey. We started the day off with more convention workshops. We woke up around 6:45 and went downstairs for breakfast. As soon as everyone ate, we checked out of our hotels and went to the convention. We also went to several workshops that day. There were a lot of workshops we explored. In addition, different colleges explained to us why we should come to their colleges and how great their journalism programs were. Around 1:00 we took a lunch break at the food trucks outside. We ordered tacos, nachos, and different food bowls. We returned to the convention, sat down, ate, and talked. After we ate we went to the JFK memorial. The JFK memorial was a very unique spot. I realized things I never thought of. We took pictures. Shortly after that, we went back to the hotel, called for our bags, called an Uber, and went to the airport where we will settle in for our flight back home to DC. -Jayland Folwkes
It was our last day in Texas and it is 6:45 am. We are making sure that we not leaving anything. On our way out we drop our bags off at the front desk so we won't have to carry them at the workshops at the convention. We went to eat. After we ate, we made our way to the convention. Everyone went to their workshops and took notes. I was with Flo, Jay, and Frost. The first workshop we went to was on photo editing. Then went to a yearbook workshop and finally met up with everyone at the last workshop. After that, we went to a food truck and got lunch. When we finish eating, we went to the JFK Memorial where was took a lot of pictures. After that, we made our way to the airport and went home. Overall I had fun and picked up a lot of tricks I can use in FNN. I really enjoyed myself and can't wait for the next one. -Michael Williams
We woke up, put on our clothes, went to breakfast and left our bags at the front desk. On our way to the convention, an elderly lady fell down, So we helped her up and asked. “Are you okay ?” And, she said, “Yes.”
At the convention, we went to different workshops, such as yearbook and another graphic design workshop. The yearbook workshop demostrated ways you can make your yearbook pop and come to life.The workshop had to do with more graphic design and yearbook, mostly because our yearbook students needed to know more about graphic design. We then got lunch from the food trucks downstairs. I had Chinese food which was very delicious. I really loved it. After the convention, we went back to the hotel to get our belongings, but they had our belongings in their garage. The hotel almost lost my book bag but they found it for me. After they found my things Ms.Merritt called a Lyft. Kiani, Tsion, Michael and I went with her. Then, Mr. Foster called a Lyft and the rest of the students went with him. We got to the airport, went through security and rushed to the plane. We got our seats but when we boarded the plane our seats were not on the ticket. Finally, we took off. My ears were popping. A few hours went by we landed and we’re finally arrived at home sweet home—Ronald Reagan Airport, Washington D.C. -Ariana Lucas
I woke up at 6am and immediately started getting my bag together. We were leaving that morning and I made sure I had everything. I went to the girls room because I was bored and I began to help Kiani take out her braids. After doing that, Kiani told me to get her order for her because she wasn't ready. Before getting breakfast, I dropped my bag by the bellhop. We went to the same breakfast place as yesterday and I got Kiani's order as well as my same order from yesterday. We proceeded to walk to the convention center after consuming our food. Ariana, Kiani, and I went to more workshops dealing with photojournalism and graphic design. We learned how to organize the yearbook and strengthen the composition of our photos. All of them were actually great except for the second one. I felt like the moderator basically just gave us a history lesson, his life story and didn't teach anything. After the workshops, we ate at a food truck where Ms. Merritt bought Michael and I fish tacos. After lunch we went to Dealey Plaza, which was where President Kennedy got assassinated. Exploring the site made me feel more patriotic, if that makes sense. Thinking about Kennedy's assassination made me think about America as a whole and how it was impacted by his death. We went back to the hotel to get our bags. They led us to the garage where a ton of luggage was just sitting there and Ariana and I looked at each other with faces of shock. Somebody could just run up and take a bag and that made me nervous. I found my bag in another room waited in the lobby for everyone else. Afterward, Ms. Merritt and Mr. Foster called two Lyfts to bring us all to the airport. Ms. Merritt printed our boarding passes and we went to TSA. They were annoying. They asked for and did too much. When I got to the line to board the plane, the lady didn't give me a ticket so I didn't know my seat and had to go through an entire fiasco just to sit down. But after the mess, I found out I was in 23b which is in the exit row which meant I had more room. I sat next to Michael. We had so much fun during the plane ride which as only two hours this time.
Overall, this was a new and exciting experience for me and I hope that I can do this again. -Tsion Cummings
