Dependent wins trip to D.C. due to essay Published Aug. 30, 2007 By Airman 1st Class Wesley Carter 30th Space Wing Public Affairs VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- In 500 words describe the challenges faced when having a parent deploy. That was the prompt that Blessing Mullis was given to enter the Silver Lining Essay Contest, which she along with 26 other military dependents across the world won. The daughter of Master Sgt. Tom Mullis and wife Connie found out about the essay contest two days before the deadline. "Tech. Sergeant Shelia White from the Airman Family Readiness Center is who told us about the contest, she thought Blessing might be interested," said Mrs. Mullis. "It was easy to write," said Blessing. "I just wrote down how I felt about my dad being deployed." The competition awarded Blessing and the other contest winners with a two-week full expense paid trip to Washington D.C. Blessing, who has been involved in many scholastic contests, forgot about the contest until she heard the news that she was chosen, she said. Academic and Scholastic competitions offer a no risk and high reward opportunity. "I think all children should compete in events like this," said Mrs. Mullis. "It's a great learning opportunity that is fun." During the trip, Blessing was able to visit many historical sites, including the Pentagon, the White House and the National Archives. "The trip was amazing," Blessing said. "We got to visit so many historical places and eat the most amazing food. This competition was by far the best that I have won." Part of the trip was set aside for this years contest winners to vote on a prompt for next year's Silver Lining Essay Contest. "We decided that next years contest would be the challenges of having a parent who is a firefighter or police officer," Blessing said. As Airmen it is often easy to forget that the Air Force isn't just made up of Airmen but the Airman's family. The Air Force's success in the past 60 years has continuously been mounted on the support at home.