Youth and Government

I just got back from Sacramento last Monday because I was at a Youth and Government conference. Let me just start by saying- the program is amazing! It's hard to know where to begin. We left on Wednesday (my birthday) and got settled into our hotel room. We had a crystal clear view of the capital building. We later went to Johnny Rocket's to celebrate my birthday. On Thursday, since I'm in the media program, I got to interview the Superintendent of State, Jack O'Connell. It was so cool seeing my face on television as a news reporter. That night, in a huge convention hall, there were 15 jolly jumps (we call it the Bounce House). As cheesy as it may sound for seventeen year olds to be playing on jolly jumps- it was a ton of fun! There are 2,300 students who participate in the program so you can imagine how crowded it can get. I also was invited to a VIP ice cream party in Youth Governor, David Murdter's, suite. Since my friend, Alex Castillo, was President Pro-Tempore, he was a good friend of Mr. Murdter's. I was busy interviewing people for my story (you can see it if you go to YouTube and type in Y-Line). I got to interview Assemblyman Nava and Portantino, the Youth District Attorney, President Pro-Tempore Alex Castillo, and many more. On Friday night, we all celebrated at the Hard Rock Cafe and sang the YMCA together. (Youth and Government is a program sponsored by the YMCA so it had a special meaning). We later went to the dance which was huge- it was so crowded!! On Saturday night we saw a hypnotist show which was interesting. On the last night we I attended the Governor's Banquet which was quite impressive. The unique aspect of Y&G is that students get to use all of the Capitol's Senate and Assembly chambers. The youth governor gets to do all his work in Arnold's office. Speaking of Arnold; we're all pretty mad at him. He was scheduled to make a speech and instead ditched us to see a basketball game! Despite that, I had so much fun making new friends and spending quality time with familiar friends. It was a wonderful experience.

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