This past week, I had the opportunity to go to Baltimore, Maryland to compete in the National Leadership Conference for FBLA. Back in April, I placed second in the state of Nebraska in Publication Design and qualified to attend NLC. There was never a dull day on this trip to Baltimore! I have never been more than three states away from Nebraska, so I took advantage of being in a city that I have never seen before. For the competition, I presented to several judges on Friday morning. I gave an overview of the different marketing materials that I had created for the “business” that I was promoting. I did not make it into finals, but I was still proud of the fact that I placed second in Nebraska and that I was able to fly down to Baltimore and compete. Because I was the only kid from our school that qualified, my adviser and I had lots of time to go and tour the city! One of my favorite days was when we went to Washington DC to see all of the monuments. We rented a city bike and rode from the Capitol, all the way to the Lincoln Memorial. Since we were on a time constraint, we weren’t able to see all of the museums and every single monument. However, it was still an amazing experience. Another fun place that I was able to go to was the National Aquarium. It was a block away from our hotel, and we went on a three-hour tour. We saw a dolphin show, saw a 4D shark film, and we got to walk the many levels of the exhibit. FBLA has provided many different opportunities for me, and this trip has been the best by far. It was amazing that I was able to compete in an event that I loved, and I got to take a trip because of it. For anyone who is debating whether or not to join FBLA, I definitely recommend doing it. This program helps you develop a skill set that will be useful for the rest of your life.