September 24, 2017

Four a.m on Saturday morning, we loaded a plane bound for the Arlington, Va., airport before driving to Washington, D.C. We were excited to attend the SkillsUSA Washington Leadership Training Institute.

The SkillsUSA officers and I talked about how weird it is that just the other day we were running around the Texas mountains to finish our statesman award by reciting SkillsUSA facts to the organization’s leaders. We were all nervous, afraid of stumbling or not being able to reach their standards.

Now heading to Washington, I wondered what it will be like in our meeting with Congressmen Jodey Arrington and Will Hurd, members of the Texas House of Representatives. Maybe it was just the plane, but my stomach twisted knowing I would meet some of the most powerful people in the United States.

At the hotel our officer team immediately began our training to prepare for our meetings. One room after the next, they crammed information into our heads about communication, leadership and citizenship. Trying to seem unphased by the jet lag, I drowned my brain in seemingly unlimited amounts of coffee to be alert to all the knowledge being presented.

Finally we had our last session, and I go to bed knowing tomorrow we get to explore.

September 26, 2017

Stepping off the bus at the Pentagon Memorial  I was handed two pebbles and a paper with an unfamiliar face. I walked the lines of dates on the ground,  searching for the unknown man on the paper’s year of birth. Underneath the bench, cool water flowed, and I sat under the shady tree. Because his bench arose from the ground pointing away from the Pentagon, the sergeant had died inside the building on Sept. 11, 2001.

Having no memory of that day, I tried to understand, so I began to read  the paper I was given. This man who had served to protect my life, had not be found for days as his wife suffered without answers, and yet here I sat, alive. I shivered at the idea just as a cold breeze passed by the tree I was sitting under trying to find escape from the heat.

I did not know how to show my gratitude, so I decided to pray. I prayed for those serving and for those veterans. I prayed that God would protect them and our country because even as they protect us, somehow evil comes to destroy.

I stood, laid a pebble down, and put the other in my pocket. The unfamiliar face was no longer just a strange man on a paper. Stepping out into the heat of the sun, I remember how my freedom was preserved and won.

September 27, 2017

By Tuesday our officer team had finally gone through all the training and planning to meet with Sen. Ted Cruz and Texas Reps. Jodey Arrington and Will Hurd.

My favorite one was Hurd because he was genuine and tried to relate to our generation. We got on his Snapchat story, and we learned he was in the CIA where he wanted to know how the information was obtained and handled, so decided to get into politics.

Arrington was interesting to talk to as well, but our meeting got moved to the steps of the House because he was in a hurry to go vote.

My most interesting meeting was at Texas Tea with Cruz. Expecting to get to talk or at least listen to him, I sat down in the room. After talking to the many interns, we were led outside to shake his hand, which might have been the softest I had ever felt. Then we took a picture with him, and we were done. Maybe it was the difference in how busy each of them was, but it was nice to talk to Hurd because he made me remember senators and represenatives are people, too. He made me feel my thoughts were appreciated.

After meeting with Arrington, we visited the Capitol.

Sitting in the Senate,  my fellow SkillsUSA officers and I  looked down saying, “Over there. That’s Bernie Sanders. Oh, and that’s Ted Cruz; we shook his hand yesterday at Texas Tea.”

A woman monitoring the balcony seating approached us and asked me to move from the front row. At first, I was confused. What is the big deal in sitting on that row?

Then I remember that people used to spit on the Senate, and it occurred to me the history, importance and impact these moments in Washington had on the world. Everything I had and was witnessing had the ability to change history.

There was an awkward feeling to it. How do I know which moments will go down in history? Could this be one? Will it be remembered? As I looked down at the Senate, I gained a new perspective of how important my vote was, a new perspective of freedom, kindness and networking.

An interest in politics also surfaced as I met with interns from the top three colleges I am interested in attending. Through stories of their experiences I saw new opportunites available in politics other than running for office. There  I could continue my journalism interests.

What began as a trip to advocate for the Perkins Act, which through its funds allows for SkillsUSA to survive, became a trip which taught me there was more outside of my small town life. There were sacrifices being made on top of the monumental ones engraved in stone. This was my country. This is my life. I must have pride in it, fight for it, and remember it.