Going into the week I had no idea what to expect. All I knew, was there were going to be 322 girls from different towns that were just as “clueless” as I was. I also knew this was a program about government, which I knew nothing about. Even though I had many questions, I was ready to jump right in.

Jump right in is exactly what I did. The first thing I did after I got there was eat lunch. I sat at a large table so when it filled up, I could meet several people right away. It worked! I got to know these girls very well. Good friends were made but I was a little unsure about the food. Our first meal was mashed potatoes and pancakes.

We had to conduct our first elections that afternoon. This was tough because we could only go off of first impressions. I ran for all three offices and was shot down each time. I knew though, that there were bigger and better jobs out there for me. The day continued and the process for the next day w

Monday morning came and we all knew we had our work cut out for us. Today was the day we elected and set up our city government. I ran for mayor but didn’t quite make the ballot. This didn’t phase me though because I then ran for and was elected to the first ever city council of McLaughlin. I say the first ever city of McLaughlin, because McLaughlin was just established for the 2003 session of Girls’ State. This was the city I was assigned to live in. City council was a tough job but we got the job done.

The plan was to leave right after my speech to the Auxiliary members that afternoon. Instead I found a ride home and a room to stay in and I stayed another night. Mom did leave right after the parade though. The speech to the Auxiliary went much better than the Legionnaires. I knew most of the Auxiliary already so that helped a little bit. I was at least able to make eye contact with a few people.

At breakfast I got to sit at the head table. They treated me like royalty. That was about the only thing positive that came out of this breakfast. The head table got to eat first because we were considered the V.I.P.s. I got my plate and set my orange juice down on the table only to spill it all over the head table. Oh well, I would just use my CLOTH napkins to soak it up. Then they asked me to say a few words. They didn’t tell me beforehand that I would have to speak. I made up a short little speech though. I wasn’t too quick on my feet after that late night. Then they gave me my plaque that said Girls’ State was held at UNI. This was wrong so they took my plaque back. After this catastrophic meal, I needed to get ready for the parade.

As everyone started finding their parents, it hit me that this was the last chance I had to say “Good-Bye”. Tears started flowing like the Mississippi River during a flood. I found it very hard to leave 300+ girls, that I had strong friendships with, behind me. I did find out though that I had to go to Sioux City to accept my scholarship. This would be an unforgettable adventure all in itself. I could already tell that.

Some topics in this essay:
Legion Auxiliary, Lt Governor, Girls’ Nation, Clapp Girls’, Federalist Nationalist, FFA Ag, Oh CLOTH, Legionnaires Auxiliary, Hawkeye Girls’, McLaughlin McLaughlin, girls’ nation, speech auxiliary, didn’t ballot, lt governor, head table, chosen girls’ nation, party rally, city council, sioux city, girls’ city, board education,