This year, I was given the opportunity to attend California Girls State, sponsored by American Legion Auxiliary Unit #105. It was a transformative experience, and not at all like I had expected it to be.

The First Day

When I first arrived, I was bleary-eyed and exhausted from only five-ish hours of sleep and a three-hour car ride starting at six in the morning. I got checked in and assigned a room on the third floor in the city of Connolly in Dorsey County. So I lugged my huge suitcase up three flights of stairs until I reached my room, and gathered outside of my room was a group of girls. The first thing that struck me was a sense of relief, because everyone I saw sort of looked like me and by that I mean they were all nervous and a little unsure of why they were chosen to be there. It was comforting to know that I wasn't the only person who was nervous to be there and we got straight into city activities and elections.

I wanted to see if I could get elected by the girls around me, so I ran for mayor and was fortunate enough to be elected.

Being Mayor

I was a little disappointed at being elected mayor because I’d hoped to run at the state level, which was more intensive and required candidates to give speeches in front of the entire delegation. But in retrospect, I’m glad I was able to spend so much time focusing on my city because it gave me a glimpse into what it meant to be a local government official, making small speeches, outlining budgets, planning city events and helping make a few ordinances. It was a lot of work and extremely personal to my city specifically, and given that I was in charge of 25 people and an actual mayor would be in charge of thousands, it was interesting to see how difficult it was sometimes to reach compromises and make decisions.

But more than that, being mayor allowed me to get closer to the girls in my city. I spent most of my time with them, and was able to go home knowing I had a few girls I didn’t want to lose touch with.

Final Reflections

Girls State gave me the opportunity to see what it would be like to be a lawmaker. It empowered me to realize that women are making a difference in my own government, and I was able to listen to several of them give speeches while there. I was grateful to listen to speakers including mayors, policymakers and veterans. I realized I had the capacity to run for office, and not just in the distant future — Girls State made me feel as though I could run and have a real shot at winning only a few years from now.