Hey there everyone! We are about to enter one of my favorite months of the whole year: July! You’ve got popsicles and parades, celebrations and salutations, fireworks and freedom…what more could you ask for in a month, really?! July is one of my personal favorites because of the opportunities we have to remember those who have sacrificed for our individual freedoms. I have grandparents and great-grandparents who have served our nation, and so it hits close to home whenever we talk about the sacrifices that are given. So what does freedom mean, and why is it important to us? I remember in my eighth grade English class we learned about World War Two. My teacher had extensive knowledge about the Holocaust, so I feel like we learned a lot from her, even though it was an English class. I remember vividly a time that she had us all stand up and then proceeded to read statements such as “I have green eyes” or “I want to be a teacher when I grow up.” If the statement she read applied to us or to a family member, she had us sit down. Some of the statements seemed so general! At the end of the exercise, she got up in front of the class with only a few still standing and said, “All of you still standing are the ones who would still be alive in Holocaust Germany. The rest of you would have been sent to a concentration camp, some of you simply because of the family you were born into or the type of hair color you have.” That exercise really resonated with me because I recognized how lucky we are today to experience the freedoms that many during World War II did not have. It got me thinking a lot about what it means to be truly FREE. Freedom is being able to worship whatever deity you want to. Freedom is being able to go to the post office or the grocery store without the fear of being taken from your family at any moment. Freedom is the opportunity to vote in political elections, to have an opinion on the government, to not be forced into military service. Freedom is being able to express yourself as an individual and to live in a protected, safe environment with the ones you love. That’s what it’s all about. We can experience these freedoms because of those who have come before and paved the way for us to enjoy them. To those who have served our country to help us experience these freedoms, we at Leven’s thank you. Thank you for helping us have a safe, tight-knit community here in Cache Valley. We want to express thanks to our community and to our wonderful customers! Next week, July 7th through the 9th (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) we will be participating in the Downtown Logan sidewalk sale. Come stop by and say hi and check out our selection of discounted ties, shirts, skirts and more! We look forward to seeing you there.