I planned on spending my last two summers before college sinking my feet into sandy beaches, going to concerts, and kayaking up New Hampshire's beautiful rivers with my best friends. Instead, I was fortunate enough to spend my summers working over eighty hours a week to elect Hillary Rodham Clinton as the 45th President of the United States. This campaign was an all-consuming experience, it felt like I was running a marathon everyday with no breaks. Yet if I had the chance to do it over again, I would in a heartbeat. Campaigning is incredibly difficult, but what makes it all worth it is knowing that you can tell your kids that you did absolutely everything in your power to ensure that Donald Trump would never step foot in the White House. I truly cannot imagine what my life would be like if I never got involved in this campaign.

Aside from having the humbling experience of becoming engrossed in my local community of voters, some of my most cherished memories and best friends have come from my summer fellowships. Working on a campaign for over eighty hours a week really makes you be friends with your coworkers, because after you get out of work nobody is on your schedule, so you really only can hang out with your campaign friends. While it was unfortunate I did not get to see as much as my high school friends as I wanted, I have no regrets whatsoever. Hanging out with my fellow campaign staffers proved to be the best use of my summer possible, for they are all incredibly gifted and talented individuals. We all worked our hearts out each and every single day to see Hillary Clinton and other down ballot democrats get elected into their respective offices. We were the ones that stayed in the office all night to make sure it was decorated and clean. We were the ones that woke up at 5am to help prep canvass packets and make sure our canvass had food and water for our volunteers. We were the ground soldiers of the massive operation to elect Hillary Clinton. By sharing all these grueling, but rewarding, experiences with my coworkers, we naturally grew incredibly close. At the end of August, I had to leave my fellowship to head to Manhattan to start school at Pace University. My departure was incredibly bitter sweet, but I left New Hampshire ready for the next big adventure in the Big Apple.

But to all of my friends still campaigning, let me just say, thank you. Thank you for devoting your time and energy to doing one of the hardest jobs imaginable, field organizing. The hours are long, the pay is not great, and the goals are demanding, in these aspects, it is an incredibly thankless job, but you already knew this. You already knew how impossible this job was going to be, yet every day you keep fighting. You fight because this election is too important to sit idle. You fight because it is beyond absolutely necessary that Hillary Rodham Clinton wins this election on November 8. The alternative is all to scary to even imagine. Keep up the good fight, and just remember that all your hard work will pay on November 9.