It's Over

Yesterday was possibly the saddest day of my life. No one is ever good at saying goodbye, but on Saturday, barely anyone could get the words out.
When I woke up, I just had a heavy feeling in my stomach that wouldn't go away. Packing up the room was really hard, not just because Annie and I had a lot of stuff, but because our room had basically become home. That morning was a mess, since our house parents had to check each room to make sure everything was gone and we hadn't forgotten everything.
After putting our suitcases in our study hall room, Annie and I went to Starbucks one last time, getting our usuals. We were stalling, since we wanted to spend as much time as possible in the hotel. Then, we walked, for the last time as Senate Pages, to the Capitol. I filmed the walk, since even though the walk was only about ten minutes, we had made a lot of good memories on that walk alone.
We didn't go to our usual page room, but Senate Room A, a place where committees take place, and also the room where I had my first committee. Some people were already crying, and the whole morning had a sad/happy feeling to it.
I'll admit, I cried about 3 times, even before graduation had started.
Then graduation came, and next thing I know, it's all over.
Mrs. Schaar, the Clerk of the Senate, gave us a nice departing speech which brought my friend and I to tears, and then while Senator Obenshain read the resolution we all came up with, be laughed so hard our tears were forgotten. Our parents were up in the gallery, watching and filming the moments, and just by their faces, they looked like the proudest parents on earth.
After graduation, we all headed back to Senate Room A so our parents could pick us up. That's where the tears started. I didn't want to leave, over the past 7 weeks, all the kids that I had met had become an important part of my life.
I don't know how to describe the page program. All I can say is it truly changed my life and I will never forget it.

The Capitol

I Can See the Finish Line

You know how when you start something awesome, and all you can think about how everything is going to be but you never think it's going to end until the moment you're saying goodbye? That's how this week feels. I mean it's only Wednesday and our final day is Saturday, but that isn't a long time. It feels like just yesterday I was sitting in the Senate Chamber with complete strangers and now we're all like a family. Sure we aren't perfect, and at times we don't want to be around each other, but in the end, we all care about each other. When I got the acceptance letter for the Page Program, all I could think about was what would my roommate be like, would I like the Page Program, what would the people be like, what would it be like having all these rules and so on, and so on. Well, my roommate is amazing, on a bad day she can make me smile and I know she's always there for me, the Page Program is the best thing in the world. I will never forget what it has been like to be here. Everyone in the program and all the staff I have met are wonderful. I've made so many new friends that it makes saying goodbye even harder, and as for all the grownups that have patiently shown us how to do each job; I will never be able to thank them enough. All the Senators I have met have been nothing but nice and welcoming. They make you feel right at home. As for the rules, I've learned that even though you make think they're pointless, rules are created to keep you safe. 

Monday night we had a mock session, where we got to pretend to be senators and have the senators act as our pages. That was really fun, I even got to talk! (Secretly, I just wanted to use the microphone) Tuesday night we went to VCU and cheered on the Senate as they played against The House in a basketball game to raise awareness for cancer. Although the Senate didn't win, it was still fun to cheer everyone on. Tonight all House and Senate pages went to the Governors mansion for dinner and dessert. Not only did we get to mingle with each other, but we all got to take a picture with the governor! 

When you say you're going somewhere for seven weeks, that sounds like a long time, but I feel like it was just a second ago I was at orientation. Richmond has become a home away from home for me. I'm going to miss the simple things, like the walk to work and familiar faces, to getting to go to Starbucks every morning and having the people at the Capitol cafeteria knowing exactly what I want for lunch. As much as I want to come home and go back to normal life, if I was given the choice to stay here in Richmond I'd stay here in a heart beat. 

Page Pounds

Most people have heard of the freshmen fifteen right? Most kids say that they'll eat healthfully, but they don't realize how hard it is to actually do that. I'll admit, I'm one of those kids, and now I know how easy it is to just eat whatever you want. Here in Richmond, we don't have grown ups to tell us to eat vegetables and fruit, basically, they just don't want us to go hungry. Basically, one of the things that we watch is how much money we spend on food, since everyone wants to save up their money. I'm not saying all we eat is junk food, there are kids who eat salads here everyday, I eat a turkey sand which on whole wheat everyday, but I'm saying it's easy to slip in to a pattern of eating nothing but chips and soda. In the meeting room, where we can all hang out after work and study hall, there are snacks we can buy for twenty five cents. You can get as many snacks as you want, just make sure you pay. All in all, I'm learning that as much as going out to eat at a restaurant every night sounds fun, you still have to be a little careful about what you eat.