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“What are you looking forward to this summer?”
Three young voices. Three different corners of the country. One shared hope for joy, peace, and imagination.
Jayden Bellamy – Age 9, Atlanta, Georgia
“I’m looking forward to the ice cream truck. And lightning bugs. And if we get to go to the pool like last summer, I’m gonna do five cannonballs in a row. I also wanna stay up late with my sister Ava and watch space movies on her laptop. If we have popcorn and the fan blowing and nobody fighting, that’s like…the best summer ever.”
“I’m looking forward to the nights. When it gets real quiet and you can see the stars good. Me and Pap sit out sometimes, and he tells stories I don’t think he tells anybody else. I want to go fishing too. Not even to catch much—just to sit by the water and think. I like how summer smells here. Like rain and wood and something old still holding on.”
“This summer, I’m looking forward to freedom. Like, actual freedom. Not just Bible chores and baking bread. I want to finish my story about the glitter sword princesses. I want to draw outside and not get told it’s “wasting time.” I hope Aunt Janelle comes to visit or maybe—I dream big—I get to go to Austin. Mostly, I’m looking forward to reading a whole banned book under the stars with a flashlight and not getting caught.”
USA250 is a living mosaic of voices from across the nation, chronicling what it means to live, dream, and hope in 2025. Follow along each day as we highlight the truth-tellers, joy-makers, and future-builders of this country.
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