What did the founders of our country mean when they spoke of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”? Â I think now I understand. Â Here we are free to celebrate. Â We launch balls of glittering fire into the sky. Â We deck entire cities in light and haul out giant Christmas trees. We hand out colored jelly beans in school to tell a story, or eat a birthday cake to commemorate a special someone. Â On July fourth we celebrate our right to celebration, and what could be better than that? Â Being the Azalea Festival representative has taught me the value of celebration. Â Everywhere I go, people know how to party–even when we have the looming threat of a hurricane on the horizon. Â It’s “live-like-you’re-dying” philosophy at its very finest. Â Today it’s the seventh, and we’ve moved on from the streamers, parades, and drum rolls, but I hope that still we can find a way to celebrate these most precious of rights– life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Your Azalea Festival Princess,
Tori Mathew
