It’s a strange feeling, being very nervous and also very excited at the same time. As I walked through Reagan National Airport this summer, by myself, that’s how I was feeling.

I had been chosen to represent Kansas at the Al Neauharth Free Spirit and Journalism conference in Washington, D.C., and after months of anticipation, I was almost there.

I spent had days putting together my application: a portfolio of essays, recommendation letters, work examples and other things, then weeks hoping they thought it was good enough. One day in April when I had walked to the end of the school hallway to get cell phone reception, I got the Email saying I had been selected.

I’ll admit that I couldn’t believe it first, but I was one of 51 seniors across the country (one from every state and D.C.) that was going to conference. And not only that, it was all free.

After I finally got my bag and could get over my fear of it getting lost, I went to find the man in the light blue jacket who my information sheets said would be taking us to the hotel. There was around 10 of us who get there at the same time and rode together to the hotel where we were eventually united with the people we’d spend the week with; people we’d build incomparable friendships with.

We did all the normal Washington D.C. touristy stuff—saw monuments, visited important buildings, walked along the national mall and took a picture in front of the white house. But this was more than just a chance to see a cool city. This was a conference about being a free spirit and being a journalist.

If you have no clue what it means to be a free spirit, that’s fine. Neither did I. I even said that in an essay when I applied, and I’m still not totally sure. But hey, I officially am one.

During the week we heard from incredible people, some journalists, others people you might call free spirits. We heard what it takes to break the tough story from the young woman who wrote the first Jerry Sandusky story, we learned what its like to constantly make eleventh-hour changes to a broadcast from the producer of Meet the Press and what its like to be a professional journalist at a time when its hard to define exactly what makes a journalist.

But we also heard from people like Dr. Ernest Patton, who helped organize and participated in the Freedom Riders in 1961. Dr. Patton’s story of courage and bravery, his will to stand up for what’s right, and continued will for good in the present helped define for me what it meant to be a free spirit.

There’s a million things I could write about like the incredible nine-story Newseum, the boat ride we took down the Potomac River, the huge USA Today building or the unforgettable people I met.

The one thing I wish I could write more about was Al Neauharth. Neauharth, who founded USA Today and the Free Spirit program, died just a few months before the conference this year. His family and former colleagues kept him alive and described him as inspirational man who proved that risk-taking, believing in yourself and passionate hard work were always worth it. He left behind an incredible legacy and reaffirmed for me that what I’m getting myself into is the right thing.