"If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you..."

If we look about in Michigan, we would most likely find that one of Michigan's best attributes is its diversity.  Its variety of citizens, terrain, and weather extend from one end of the spectrum to the other.  Residents in Michigan include many cultures:  Native Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, and Anglo Saxons.  Michigan's terrain is as diverse as it gets.  From sand dunes in Glen Arbor to densely located lakes and ponds in the lower eastern part of the state to heavily forested areas in the Upper Peninsula to the flatlands near Lansing and rolling hills in Ann Arbor - Michigan has it all. We are also fortunate that Mother Nature blesses Michigan residents with diverse weather.

This picture is an example of just that - diverse weather.  One hot July day this past summer, my husband and I, daughters and son, spent an afternoon at North Higgins Lake.  Twenty minutes after our arrival, the breeze picked up and we noticed rolling storm clouds approaching from the west, while the sun continued to shine brightly.  As the brewing clouds hovered above the shoreline, it was as if Mother Nature swept the clouds to the south.  She seemed to protect the families on the beach so they could continue sunbathing and splashing.

To me, making Michigan's future a success requires its citizens to recognize the beauty of all the diversity Michigan offers.  Its diverse citizens offer unique points of view on how Michigan could prosper.  Its terrain invites people eager to travel here for any adventure.  And, its diverse weather provides an opportunity for all to enjoy the natural beauty Michigan has to offer throughout the entire state.  Michigan indeed has a future, we just have to "look about."