More Than WordsMy own declaration of independence didn’t come on a Fourth of July ��� it came on an ordinary November afternoon

Hanging out with friends of different nationalities (circa 1993)

Now that school is finally over and summer has officially started, my family and I took our yearly trip���almost a tradition by now���of spending the first day of summer at the beach, usually somewhere in North Carolina. Mostly because it���s a short drive from home, and it spares us hours stuck in traffic just to reach a place that���s bound to be crowded anyway.