There's nothing I can say about the Democratic National Convention that hasn't already been said. It was an amazing experience if you were for Hillary, it was a "1984-styled dystopian society presentation" if you weren't.
What I'm here to discuss, instead, is how I got there in the first place.
Before I was approached to sign up for a delegate position in mid-March by a Texas Democratic Party regional director, I had the tremendous opportunity of seeing Bill Clinton rally for his wife in Houston the month before. I found out about the rally very last minute and approached my mother the night before to see if she wanted to come with.
You see, when she became a citizen of the United States nearly 20 years ago, Bill was the very first president she ever got to vote for, and I was excited for his wife, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to be the first president I ever get to vote for as well. So of course, my mother decided to come along!
Unrealistically hopeful to meet the 42nd president of the United States, I sent the Hillary for America team an email with the determination of getting to shake his hand and take a photo with him. Reasonably, they didn't reply.
But I believe fate has its way of getting you to where you need to be.
The day of the rally, my mother and I ardently waited in line, filled with anticipation of getting to see Mr. Clinton.
Less than 10 minutes before doors opened, however, one of Clinton's staff came up to my mother and me in line and asked if we wanted to go on stage behind Bill. My mother looked at me, and I looked at her. Simultaneously, I said, "yes," and my mother said, "nope!"
We looked at the staff member, and then at each other yet again, and repeated that exact same "straight-out-of-a-sitcom" scenario. Eventually, I convinced her to take the stage with me and it was everything we could have asked for and more.
After his (admittedly long-winded, classic Bill) speech, he turned around, approached the few people sitting behind him on stage and thanked us, shook everyone's hand, and took pictures with us. Even though the Hillary for America campaign never got a chance to follow-up with my email, and that it was a far-fetched request in the first place, my wishes came true.
It was because of my parents' bringing me up with an emphasis on giving back to the community which had kept us safe and our American dream alive, I knew a career in public policy and civic engagement truly was something I would be passionate about -- and it didn't hurt that fate led me to meeting the very president who encompassed just that.
Shortly after, I signed up for the Texas Democratic Party newsletter and was contacted to become a state delegate, a position I was honored to hold.
Afterwards, I was introduced to the idea of running for a national delegate position, a promotion I gladly received as a national delegate alternate. From there, Hillary for America's delegate relations office contacted me about filling in for a Credentials Committee Member who was unable to attend, another position I humbly accepted. And the rest, as they say, was history.
