Monday, September 1, 2008

DNCC - Thursday

WOW! I thought Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were amazing...they were just the beginning! Thursday's events at Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium were beyond belief. It was busy, crazy, exciting, and above all inspiring. I made sure to get on the first bus to go to the delegate entrance at Invesco. We were told that delegates are under the jurisdiction of the secret service so we had to have an armed officer on our official buses at all times. The bus was packed and we headed off to the stadium. Even though we were one of the first groups to arrive, the line was already almost a half a mile long! The security measures were heightened because of the size of the crowd. The sun was beating down on us and it seemed like forever before we made it to the security tent. Finally inside, we ventured down to the floor where we were thrust into a packed house and rushed to finds seats with our delegation.
We danced and cheered and heard some (more) amazing speeches! I finally got warm enough that I needed some water and you know what that means, a follow up trip to the restrooms! my fellow SD 30 delegate Abbas and I decided to hit the food stands as well, but we got separated when trying to reenter the floor. I got pushed out because the Fire Marshall said the floor was overcrowded! In a panic, I raced to the delegate entrance; however, it too was closed! We tried to figure out what to do - we were missing Al Gore and Stevie Wonder! We waited and waited and people started pushing and arguing. John Kerry entered and we got some good pics of him while we waited. Finally, they cleared the floor and allowed delegates to reenter. I think it helped that one gentleman reminded the special agents monitoring the gate that delegates must have priority over press and guests! I think they may have even removed some people to make room for us!
Finally back on the floor, I didn't leave my seat for the rest of the night (except to stand up and cheer!). I didn't want to miss anything else! Needless to say, the rest of the convention was AMAZING! (I think I've already said that a few times!) I was moved to tears - again - and inspired to continue my involvement in the political process. I felt a renewed sense of patriotism - something that has been lacking in my life for about 8 years now - and I'm ready to do what I can to make a difference.
Throughout my experience as a delegate to the DNCC I was blessed to be able to hear amazing speeches, be witness to history, and meet all kinds of wonderful people. Even traveling on the buses and trains I would have conversations with other delegates, convention attendees, and just regular folks from denver. It felt great to have meaningful conversations with people of various backgrounds and political beliefs. We were able to share our knowledge, experiences, and opinions with each other in a positive atmosphere where everyone was on equal footing and could learn from being an open-minded listener. I have decided that my new mission is to get the young activists to reach beyond their familiar groups and outside of their college campuses to do more community outreach. There are so many people who do not participate in the political process in America. This is definitely a year that can make a difference in America's future, so every person should have an opportunity to be involved in making decisions that affect them and future generations!

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