Hey All.
On Thursday, October 27th, 2016 I had the privilege of attending a Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama rally with one of my best-friends, Rachel. I can't express how much it meant to me to have the opportunity to be in a place where not only was I only a couple feet away from my two greatest inspirations, but also surrounded by people who share my passions, views, and idols. School can be tough sometimes in that respect. Kids tease me, make rude remarks, and can be straight up awful about how much I love not only Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama, but politics in general. Most high school students don't understand or support this passion of mine. They think it's silly, or useless, or crazy. To be in a place like I was on Thursday where no one there was judgmental of my passion, and where it was cool to love politics and Hillary, and Michelle, was so refreshing and uplifting.
We stood in line for the upwards of 2 hours waiting to get inside to the event. It was chilly outside, and cramped. But the spirit was high. People were singing, cheering, and chanting "I Believe That She Will Win" at the top of their lungs. There were young people, old people, white, black, and Hispanic people, women and men, people of all faiths, backgrounds, and walks of life. There were school groups, mother's and daughters, families, and best friends. All of us. All 14,000 of us waiting outside in that line. Every single person was smiling.
Rachel and I walked up and down the line, with the intention of scoping things out. We were both holding signs as we walked. People laughed and cheered us and our signs on as we walked by. We were stopped at least 20 times by older women who wanted to take our picture. Every single one of them commented on how great it was we were involved with politics at such a young age. That's not something we hear often at school. It felt good. I felt supported.
As the line inched along Rachel and I, along with many others, were stopped multiple times to be interviewed by TV stations with fancy microphones and big cameras. Every time a person got pulled to be interviewed the whole line got excited for them. There was one young man who randomly got pulled to interview with CNN. As soon as his interview had finished and he returned to his spot in line, everyone went nuts. None of us had met him before. None of us knew him. He was merely a person who got lucky, and so we all supported him. As a fourteen year-old I don't know a lot, but I do know that dynamic is special.
Slowly approaching the arena, we said goodbyes to all the people we had been standing near in line. After just a short time we had all built connections and become friends.
After entering the arena we worked our way to seats, ending up in a prime position on the floor. Rachel and I started freaking out, as we never could had dreamed we would be so close to the speakers. A Clinton campaign staffer saw us and smiled. The woman next to me gave us a thumbs-up.
Rachel and I watched as speakers came and went on stage. I was struck by how different yet similar they all were. Everyone that spoke looked different, talked different, and acted different. But they all loved America. And that was enough to bring them all together, to pull them from different parts of the country, and to make them clear time in their day, just to be in the arena and speak to us on that Thursday.
At 2:05 as the audience was getting impatient, a wave started. Every single person in the stadium participated in making the most epic wave I have ever seen. It flowed across the building, with people cheering and laughing and standing and participating in this totally spontaneous group activity. It made me feel like I was a part of something big. It made me feel like a member of a community. Of a team.
The wave ended as music started. Rachel and I clasped each other's hands. We started shaking. And then Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama walked on stage. I started to cry. I could not hold back my tears. In fact, I am getting teary as I write this. To be in the presence of two of the strongest, smartest, most courageous women in the entire world truly is a great honor.
It's hard to put into words how much Hillary and Michelle have meant to me throughout my school career. It may seem silly, but I feel like they're my best friends. When I am stressed, or need a pep talk, I look at pictures of Hillary, or read snippets of her books. When I'm sad or down in the dumps, I watch Michelle and her hilarious self on talk shows. Watching these two eloquent, beautiful, powerful women take on the world is such an inspiration. They've conquered all odds to get where they are today. Michelle and Hillary make me feel as if I could accomplish anything I set my mind to. Even being president one day.
Quickly after the speeches wrapped up, Rachel and I realized though we were on the floor we would be unable to get selfies with Hillary and Michelle. Though one of my main goals coming into the event to get photos with our FLOTUS and future POTUS, it was okay. There would be more chances in my lives to meet them, have photo-ops with them. I could just feel it.
I took a deep breath. On that stage was greatness. On that stage was history. I slowly looked around the arena, taking everything in so to never forget it. The community at this rally was something like I'd never felt before. Everyone supported and loved one another, even though we were technically all strangers. The 14000 people in that space all shared the strong core democratic and American values, no matter how different we appeared on the outside. It was a diverse bunch of people. It was a beautiful bunch of people.
As walked out of the rally I saw a little white girl and a young black boy standing together in the rain. Both of them were holding signs. Both signs read, "Stronger Together".
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Here are some photos from my day.
Thanks for reading y'all.
