I'm leaving on a jet plane... on the 19th

I’m going. I made a decision and I bought a ticket.

On Halloween night I called my friend Katriina and I expressed to her my desire to visit Pine Ridge. When I called her she was visiting our friend Angie. If I could have anyone on the reservation adopt me, it would be her. Angie is the secretary at the Wounded Knee District School. She magically has an answer to every single question and she has a big heart. The night before my YouthWorks team and I left Manderson, I ran over and killed Angie’s son’s puppy named Warrior. I was heartbroken and devastated. I was so afraid that Angie’s family would be mad at me for killing Warrior. When I went to Angie’s house to apologize she hugged me and told me that it would be ok. She knew that it was accident. She forgave me.

When I called Katriina, she put me on the phone with Angie. I was so excited I almost cried. When I told her that I was thinking about coming out for a visit, she told me that she would love to have me visit with her. I knew when I was talking to her that I needed to visit. I needed Angie in my life again.

When I told my dad that I was excited to go out and that I had bought a plane ticket he told me that I just needed to make sure my priorities were right. He said that my priorities needed to be school and finding a second job (which is impossible at this point because my car is dead in Michigan and I’m in Indiana). I told him that this was a very important priority to me. If the current plan stays, I will be going out to Pine Ridge full time after I graduate in 3 years. I need to continue working in the relationships that I have established. I need to make sure that in 3 years when I do go back that I still have relationships with people.

So I leave on November 19 for Denver and my wonderful friend Katriina is going to pick me up. Then on November 20 we are driving back to the Rez. I couldn’t be more excited. I then fly back on November 26. I only get a week with my friends but at this point a week is better than nothing.