On Tuesday, March 29, I had the opportunity to volunteer at a Bernie Sanders rally and I must say, it was quite the experience.

When my friends and I arrived at the rally we had a hard time finding exactly where to go, but were luckily found by this guy with very long hair selling peace sign pins who told us where all the volunteers were gathering. We made our way over and I was overwhelmed by the diversity among the volunteers, but it wasn’t the kind of diversity you might be expecting. Basically everyone was white, but ranged from ages seven to 75.

A woman brought her twin daughters.

One elderly woman wore a Bernie Sanders cat shirt.

There was a group of three hipster 20-year-olds.

A middle aged gay couple were extremely excited to volunteer.

A few teenage girls repped pins that supported the legalization of weed.

This one girl carried a sign that said, “No one who works 40 hours a week should live in poverty”.

Although the races of all these volunteers were not diverse, everything else about them was. Their support for Bernie was similar and unwavering, but their reasons were different. Some just wanted a higher minimum wage, some wanted to erase the gender gap, others wanted healthcare and some wanted it all. I thought, while many of these people were extremely unique and different, that it was so cool they were all able to come together to support the same cause.

After waiting some time with these volunteers outside, this vibrant, young lady (her name was Jillian) came out and told us what to do and where to go at what time. It was fast paced and hard to hear, but it was so exciting walking into the rally area and seeing all the Bernie Sanders signs. Everything was so official.

Jillian put us into groups and gave us our jobs, then we got a two hour break. They gave us the break so that secret service could come in and search the whole area.

After our break we were able to cut the mile long line of Bernie supporters waiting to enter the rally. We waited outside for Jillian, and when she finally came she handed us our official tags. Once we pinned them on we proceeded to go inside where we went through metal detectors and had our bags checked.

Luckily, my group was assigned to pump up the crowd. We were lucky to be assigned this because I quickly learned that you really don't need to hire people to pump up the crowd at a Bernie Sanders rally. The crowd does it themselves.

We went to our “spots” (ran for the area closest to the stage) right before the crowd came pouring in. The venue filled up with about 2,500 people sometime after 5 p.m. and the waiting began. Bernie wasn’t supposed to speak until 7:30.

What was I to do for over two hours? Just stare at the ceiling and hope my feet don't fall asleep? That’s lame. So I began talking to the people around me and quickly realized how far from the stereotype many Bernie Sanders supporters fell.

The people around me were young but surprisingly knew more about politics than most adults I talk to. Although they were college students they really did not focus on free tuition or the legalization of weed. They cared more for democracy, for equality and just in general for a better standard of living for all. I think the most important thing to these college students was creating a better healthcare system and creating gender equality. Other things were important too, but these two things really stuck out in our conversations. When many people think of college students who support Bernie Sanders there is a strong stigma around them. The people who surrounded me were nothing like the stereotype and were obviously informed voters.

Finally, after many conversations revolving around politics, a solo performer came on stage and sang a few songs to pump up the crowd.

Then a pre-speaker came.

Then another.

Then another.

Then there was a 20 minute pause.

Then another speaker.

And finally….Bernie Sanders took the stage.

The crowd went absolutely wild. The atmosphere changed completely. It felt empowering to be within 10 feet of someone who you support so strongly.

Bernie gave his normal speech stating everything he believed in and everything he would do for the American people. Every time he made a strong statement, the crowd went with it and roared at the top of their lungs. I found myself losing my voice but I didn’t care.

The enthusiasm and craziness never died down from start to finish. By the end I had a headache and my feet and back were aching from standing for so long. But it was all worth it. Bernie left the stage and walked around the front of the crowd shaking his supporter's hands. He entered the backstage leaving the limelight for good as hundreds of people chanted, "BER-NIE! BER-NIE! BER-NIE!".

I’d say my experience at a Bernie Sanders rally was one I will never forget. I expected for things to get crazy and

loud, but I never expected to learn so much about the people that believed in the same person to be the future president of the United States. This rally gave me hope for the movement Bernie is creating and reminded me of the future I believe in.