A Room Full of Hope

Today I arrived at the hotel where the Leadership Academy is being held. There are 31 students here, including 3 from Texas. It’s exciting in itself to meet other liberal Texans. The age range of these students is about 15-18, as it’s for students who just finished freshman year up to students who just graduated. 

One of the most amazing things so far about this Academy is the enthusiasm of the students. Everyone here speaks excitedly about what they do and you can hear the passion in their voices. We all bond over our love of politics and of the Democratic party. The Southern students especially are excited to feel less alone and the Northern students are interested in our horror stories. 

As we share our different experiences with work and volunteering, we realize that we all have a lot in common, namely that we believe in people and the power of passion. We all want to hear what everyone else has to say and value every story and opinion. 

For someone who isn’t used to being around political teens- especially not liberal ones- this is so incredibly amazing. I am so lucky to have this experience. We’re going to Capitol Hill in a few days and we’re going to get to talk to our Representatives as well as other Congressmen we don’t agree with. We’re going to ask hard questions and hopefully get some answers. 

Everyone in this room is a feminist, a liberal, a teenager, a student and we’re all so excited about our futures and the future of America. I can feel the energy rolling off these people in waves and it excites me and reminds me of why I love politics. 

When discussing the Feminist Society to these people, I was applauded and told how great that was. In Texas, I was harassed and told to shut up and sit down. It’s amazing to see the different reactions I get from conservatives and liberals. 

I’m ecstatic about the next few days. Tonight a group of us are gonna watch Miss Representation and tomorrow an important women’s rights activist is coming(some of us are betting that it’s Gloria Steinem) and you know I’ll be blogging about that. 

In my last post, I talked about the amazing bounty of hope and opportunity young people took for granted. This is a group of people who take nothing for granted and I couldn’t ask for a better place to be.