Day One
“That sun is way too bright!”
These were first words spoken as the FBLA team exited Sky Harbor and entered Phoenix, Arizona. The trip would last five days; throughout the perilous expedition, our FBLA group would experience countless encounters with the beautiful sights of Arizona. In addition, they would amass numerous stories about their travels.
The first day would prove to be the longest among the five. Waking up at 1:00 AM, every FBLA member had grown immeasurably tired over the ten hour flight, so the team was ecstatic when they finally reached the hotel – nothing could go wrong now!
“The boys’ room isn’t done yet! The boys will place their luggage inside the advisors room until the room is finished!” – Mrs. Brooks
So as the girls would get to enjoy the comfort of a five-star hotel bed, the boys would sit inside the advisors’ room calmly waiting for their room. After a long thirty minute wait, the room was finally accessible to the boys, where they could, at long last, enjoy some needed rest.
“How do you guys feel about getting In-N-Out?” – Mrs. Brooks
“I’d be fine with that.” – Owen Brooks
And just as rest was in sight, the boys were stripped away from their luxurious beds and got ready to go to In-N-Out.
Meanwhile, as the boys were getting ready, the girls had just woken up to find the forbidden text…
“We’re getting In-N-Out, be prepared to leave!” – Mrs. Brooks
So, awakened from a deep rest, all the girls got ready for an adventure for food.
Both parties would meet in the lobby of the hotel, where they would find a car to take the first half. The second half, struggling to sort out a ride with an average of three hours of sleep, took quite a while before making it to the In-N-Out. 
When they finally got there, the second group was fortunately able to get their food quickly and sit down to eat with the first group, who had made it ten minutes earlier than group two.
After a delicious evening, our FBLA team made their way across the street to find a nice Cold Stone creamery near a shopping center.
“I see an Old Navy!!!” Gabriel shouted out among his crowd. Nobody had cared much for the store but him, but he and Owen went anyway, and Gabriel would spend 306 dollars on clothes before being pulled away by Mrs. Brooks.
As everyone finished up their ice cream, in a great consensus, they all believed it was time to go back to the hotel. The ride was a long and tiring journey, but surely one rewarded with a long rest.
“They have a pool!” – Owen Brooks
And as those words were said, FBLA, as a collective once more, decided at 6:32 PM, that the group should go to the pool, and to the pool they went. It would not be until around 7:00 PM that FBLA would leave the pool.
When they had finally left, they scurried to their rooms to get ready for bed. As the sun set on our group, we set our eyes towards the next journey, the Grand Canyon.
Day Two
The morning started in the loudest way possible for the men of FBLA. All four alarms blared off inside the room as the clock hit four AM.
“You getting up, Devlin?” – Gabriel
Devlin did not answer. Despite the entire room being blasted with the sound of four consecutive alarms, the only guy to wake up in the raucous was Gabriel. He decided it was best for him to take the initiative and be the first to get prepared.
After an hour and a half, Gabriel had finished up in the bathroom to find his roommates still asleep. He decided it was best to let them rest and head down to get breakfast for himself. The room would stay stagnant for another hour before anyone would wake. When Gabriel would see his friends once again, they were getting coffee fifteen minutes before they would leave.
Gabriel would be the first down, at approximately 6:00 AM, then Addie and Summer would be down by 6:30. The three other boys on the trip would be down by 6:45. The final two, Kaylee and Alexis, made it to the lobby by 6:50.
When it came time to get on the bus, two were missing: Owen and Summer. They were waiting for their coffees and did not hear the call for the bus. Mrs. Brooks made a call to her son that was short and powerful.
“Get on the bus before it leaves you!” – Mrs. Brooks
“Coming!” – Owen Brooks
With that issue now out of the way, the group was able to see the wondrous sights of Arizona.
The highway that paves the way to the Grand Canyon is vast and empty for a long span of road. Cacti and dead grass make the most of the earth throughout the spaces between buildings. Donkeys and birds are the most common forms of life. The climate has become perfect for these creatures, despite being quite volatile to us. The second portion of the road is what makes the highway so impressive. As you climb the elevation, passing 2000 feet above the ocean, the scenery changes. Greenery takes place of the red hued sand as pine trees line the road.
Our FBLA group would follow this highway and stop at three locations: Flagstaff, a small unnamed town between the locations, and the Grand Canyon. As the FBLA group passed through Flagstaff, they saw the sudden shift in the environment. The tall orange and red mountains now changed to pine trees, shrubbery, and grass as they made their way past Flagstaff. 
The trip would stop as they made it to the final location. Our group would get out of the bus to see a sight that only nature could make in its perfection: the Grand Canyon.
The Grand Canyon, spanning 277 miles, could only be described as an art made life. Every member of the group stood in awe at the colossal landscape made by nature. The colors mismatched perfectly as the green of the high elevation met the low orange. It looked to have spanned for miles on end, moving in waves.
Our group would shortly return to the bus, impressed by what they had just seen. The Grand Canyon had left its impact on our group rightfully.
So as they made their way back, they began to sing karaoke and enjoy the trip one more time, for the largest part of the trip would come on the next day: the convention.
The day would close off with a happy sigh as every member of the group, tired from the trip, went to rest.
Day Three
After waking up at 4:00 AM to turn off their alarms after forgetting the night before, the boys desired nothing more than sleep when the clock hit seven. Today was the convention, the core purpose of the trip.
FBLA hosts conventions around the world quarterly to determine and enhance qualities of a businessperson. While some lessons are basic, they host many practical aspects any FBLA member can use throughout their life.
The convention that brought our team to Arizona was NFLC, the National Fall Leadership Conference. During NFLC, members go to workshops to learn and practice new skills. Contrastingly, other FBLA conferences are competitions in which business and leadership skills are tested.
The schedule for the convention would be as follows: Opening ceremony at 10:30 AM, Workshops from 11:30 to 12:30, Lunch till 1:30, and workshops for the rest of opening day till 4:00 PM. 
Despite the sound of the name ‘workshop’, they can be quite fun. Many include activities that put the member inside of the scenario, rather than giving you a lecture. They can include real life trading, murder mystery, and even volleyball.
Returning to our team, the clock had hit seven. Groans circled the room as all four did not want to get up. Since Gabriel took the longest to get ready, he would be the first up. Then after him, came Owen, and soon Devlin and Jaxon.
They headed downstairs, fitted in black suits and ties different between each man. In the lobby, was the rest of the group, waiting patiently for them.
“It’s time to head over, we need to sign in before the opening ceremony,” Mrs. Brooks had announced to everyone. The group headed over at the announcement, exploring the city while they walked.
“They name their streets after presidents!” – Gabriel Hopkins
“A lot of cities do.” – Owen Brooks
“Don’t ruin this for me!” – Gabriel Hopkins
Once signed in, the team would go to the opening ceremony and split when it ended. Owen and Gabriel would accidentally skip the first workshop, getting stuck outside the doors ten minutes after workshops opened. The rest would get to enjoy the first workshop, with even Jaxon saying,
“Devlin dragged me there!”
The second workshop would go more pleasantly for Owen and Gabe as they got to try the president’s committee’s workshop.
After the second came lunch. Gabriel was ecstatic to eat while Owen seemed to be more hesitant about the food. Gabriel soon learned he should’ve followed in the footsteps of Owen.
“This wrap is terrible!” – Gabriel Hopkins
“It’s prepackaged, what do you expect?” – Owen Brooks
“Something good… Are you going to order Doordash?” – Gabriel Hopkins
“Yeah.” – Owen Brooks
So the duo would split up and head back to the hotel. Gabriel would meet up with Kaylee and Addie to head back to the convention. Everything would go as usual and they would even induct a boy from Kentucky into their group as they walked over. It wouldn’t be until they made it to the door of the third workshop where Gabriel would stop.
A sudden urge had swept over the boy. He took one look inside to see a dreaded slideshow. He broke off from the group and started walking towards a different crowd – one from Arizona.
“Hey, can I join your group?” – Gabriel Hopkins
“Sure!” – Stranger
The group the boy had met was a portion of an FBLA group located within Phoenix. The group comprised of Ethan, a brown haired boy with a white button-up; Paulina, the only woman of the group who wore a fashionable dull-white sweater; Christian, the taller of the bunch and only one to not be in dress code, with a red tee; Sebastion, a somewhat lanky man with blonde hair slicked to the side (Not Pictured); and Wade, the only man to wear a suit among the entire group. They had been on their way to a trading workshop before running into one of our own.
While Gabriel was inducted into a new FBLA group, Kaylee and Addie, with their new friend, would go to various workshops. Devlin and Jaxon would not describe their experience besides them saying it was fun, but Jaxon would add,
“He dragged me everywhere!” – Jaxon Stamey
Owen, Summer, and Alexis would not comment on what workshops they attended but assured me that they were good.
During the workshops, Gabriel acquired new sunglasses, now in the possession of Wade, and some candy, Twizzlers. While walking with his new friends, he was able to briefly talk with his group to discuss what’s next.
“I think Mrs. Brooks wants to do that hike tomorrow.” – Gabriel Hopkins
“Maybe…” – Owen Brooks
The convention would end with some feelings of melancholy as the group had to leave their newly made friends.
“The main reason I do FBLA is for the people.” Gabriel explained.
“It’s a nice part of FBLA that goes overlooked in most cases. You meet hundreds of people at these events with different lives, different than ones you’ve seen all your life. It’s a beautiful aspect of this club that isn’t talked about a lot. They leave this mark on you that leaves you longing. You will meet people from different states who speak and act differently than the people you’ve lived around all your life. It shows you that there’s a world outside of your own, you know?” – Gabriel Hopkins
As the day began to close on our group, the interactions would not. Gabriel detailed many connections he made during this trip with people around the country. He spoke adamantly of a girl from California who told him about her love for ‘My Singing Monsters’.
Gabriel was not the only one however. Addie would go on to befriend a boy from Kentucky and still talks with him to this day.
The day would close off, successful for many, and tiring for others. The next two days would come to bring the greatest gift to many and a hesitance to others – home.
Day Four & Five
Everyone would get up and pack for the ride home. Many in our group found a fondness for Arizona. Its environment and people had left marks on our members. In a letter, Gabriel described his feelings for the city and its people stating,
“The ride around Phoenix is truly memorizing. It is one that I would encourage anyone to take. The views in this city provoke that feeling in man to explore the world. The people of Phoenix are free and equal in all sorts. The cohesion you see here, you do not see in our little town; it is truly a sight to behold.”
Our members would head back to our town on a five hour flight. The day would change over the flight as they travelled forward three hours from the time zone of Phoenix to Franklin.
With the trip finally ending as they reached the high school, one thing was left in their head: when can we go back?
