As I am immersed back into my home’s culture I am asked about my experiences, and it’s hard to put into words how something has changed your life. It was somewhat frustrating that we had to spend our last week studying and stressing over finals, but then again I wouldn’t have wanted it to happen any other way. As I spent my last week in Washington D.C., I realized that everything was a “last” or “final” and that I would never be able to revisit this time in my life ever again. Our last night working late, walking the National Mall and staying up all night trying to study but end up talking to roommates. The last night we spent at the dorm because we weren’t allowed to go out, but it was okay because I had a lot of packing to do and it was nice to have everyone in one place to spend our final night at. After we were sent to our rooms, Amanda and I wrote each other letters and then we pushed our beds together and read them aloud to each other. Amanda read hers to me first and about half way through when she started describing how I’ve made a difference in her life tears began to roll down my cheeks. When she looked over she started to cry too and after a few pieces of tissue she got through the rest of the letter. When I began to read my letter to her, I was struggling to fight back tears and it took all of my power to get out the words that were written on the page. After a couple of tries I finally got the words out—that this time next week we would no longer be together, she would still be in DC and I would be in California. I think that it was really hard to come to the realization that after spending everyday together for the past five months would finally come to an end. That I would no longer ask her every night who would be taking a shower first, letting her know that I was going downstairs for breakfast or asking her where she wanted to eat that day for lunch. After we shared a few more tears we watched a slideshow of all of the pictures we’ve taken since we’ve been pages with a playlist of music that we made together for packing playing in the background. At the end of the slideshow we hugged until the last song was over and went to sleep, a movie type ending to our last night as pages for this semester. The next day it was open house at our school for parents and the departure ceremony was at 2:30 in the Canon Caucus Room, the same place that we were sworn in at. The student and congressman speakers were funny and had great insights to offer. When it came time for certificates to be given out, I approached the clerk to pose for the photographer when all of a sudden someone yelled, “Wait!” I looked up at my dad who was the only family that I had there and then to my left and there was Congressman Filner walking to stand beside me in my photo. It was a great moment that really encompassed his outgoing personality and it was an honor to have been selected by him to be a page. At the end of the ceremony almost everyone was crying and I just walked over to Jerry, Chris and Derek where we talked and laughed about our experiences. I couldn’t bring myself to cry not only because it didn’t feel like the end but I also couldn’t help but smile at all that we’ve accomplished. That night my dad and I went out to dinner with Amanda’s parents and then we went back to the hotel and took lots of pictures. After we hugged goodbye it hit me that I really had no idea when would be the next time that I would see Amanda. I went up to the hotel room and cried for a while about the things that we would never be able to relive again. But after a while I knew that everything would be okay and I enjoyed the time that we were able to have together. The next morning I was able to ride the first plane ride next to my other best friend Derek. We spent the entire flight talking, listening to music, watching video clips and looking at all the pictures we took in DC. Derek and I are very alike, we were both part of the handful of pages that didn’t cry at the ceremony, and yet as the plane ride was coming to an end just a few tears were able to escape from our eyes around the same time. The page program has taught me about our government, work ethic, and friendship. The power that people hold to have such an impacting difference in my life continues to amaze me and I can’t even put into words how grateful I am for the people that I am privileged to have in my life. Perhaps the greatest lesson in all of this is to appreciate each day that you’re given and don’t ask for anything more than that. The page program will forever hold a special place in my heart.
Thank you all for being so supportive of me and keeping up with these updates. I hope life’s adventures continue to bring joy and important lessons!
“He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians
