Election Day

On Monday November 5, 2012 I met Vice President Joe Biden. I even got a hug from him. Right then and there I realized why I was doing what I had been doing for over two months. Because suddenly I realized I had a purpose, I had a chance to change things and I seized it. I felt like after meeting Biden I could do anything, like I could fly. Go ahead about eight hours and I was crying myself to sleep. What if we lost? What would happen? What if? My confidence was gone. Fast forward about seven hours and I was taking a test (probably failed it) on election day in Communications. One hour later at 10:21 I was phone banking. I was calling people asking a much simpler question than I ever had before: 'have you voted yet?' It was no more 'are you supporting President Obama in the upcoming election?' or 'How about Kaine?' 'Do you need a ride to the polls?' 'The laws in Virginia have changed and you need to bring one form of ID with you, do you know what form you will be bringing?' It was a simple, desperate attempt to get people out there and get people voting. Because despite all my hard work, effort and time on the election it was in the hands of the people it belonged to the whole time. Americans. And there was nothing more I could do. After an hour and a half of phone banking at 12:09 we left to canvass. We knocked on apartments first where it seemed nobody was home (it was low income housing and everyone was working). One woman told me she wasn't voting. But for most people I simply left a sticky note on the door pre-printed telling them to go vote! I talked to a woman who wanted to vote but said she had a phelony charge against her and couldn't. I gave her the voter rights advocate hotline and I assume she called it. I stressed to her how important her vote was, especially in the state of Virginia. The day went on while we picked up packets, drove around, got out in neighborhoods, knocked on doors, left stickies and talked to people who were enthusiastic about voting. We began asking not only the people on our packets but people on the street too. 'Have you voted yet today?' Time ticked by very fast at times and slowly at others. We picked up our last packet for the day and possibly the last one done in Virginia as the sky was turning pink. The time was 5:25. The name of the street was Hunt Ave. a street where the most murders happened in all of Roanoke. We were told never to go there, especially after dark. We just figured we wouldn't tell anyone where we went. People on that street were scared to come out of their houses so we had to talk through the door, yelling 'Have you voted yet?' But still everyone was friendly. We, on the other hand were getting cold. The pink in the sky was gone by the time we brought the packet back (each packet gets done three times to try to access the people who weren't home, but our last one was done once, by us because nobody wanted to do it). At around 6:00 we showed up at the most crowded polling location in Roanoke, Wake Forest Academy. This was where the fun really began. It was freezing outside and the people in line had to stand for over 3 hours to vote. Our job was to keep them there. We had coffee, hot chocolate, cream, sugar, donuts, hand warmers, water, etc. to keep them in lines. We had to pep them up, get them excited about what they were going to do! And in the three cold, dark hours that I held that line, Biden meant nothing. These people were why I was doing what I was doing. Because even though the sun was long gone we had our own light, a fire, because people were excited to make a difference. People knew their vote mattered. I gave so many hugs I lost count. So many people thanked me for what I was doing, which meant more than when Joe Biden thanked me. This was why I was here. This was why I was doing what I was doing. One woman named Vicki wanted me to stay in line with her until she went in the building and I couldn't go any further. A man thanked me repeatedly for what I was doing. The lines were so long people in cars were backed up and their names had to be taken down so they could still vote for curbside voting. One woman was in the car with her mom and her mom asked me 'Why are you voting for Obama?' I listed some of my many reasons and she said she was glad I had my own reasons and didn't just vote like my family just because. Another woman in line pointed at the Goodwill across the street and said to me 'You see there? I work there! I spend my whole day on my feet! I saw this line all day long!' She was so proud of herself. Another woman asked me 'When is your next meeting with Obama?' I was slightly perplexed but quickly explained that I haven't actually met him. Once the FO's left volunteers seemed to think I was in charge and began asking me all kinds of questions like what States Obama had won, where should we put the new boxes of donuts, etc. Even people who were higher up came to me to ask questions. The woman distributing car ballots asked me how many cars were in line and where the voters should go. Men came in to count ballots and they asked me where I would let them park. It was freezing cold outside and most of the other volunteers had shut down and were just trying to stay warm. While I was running car to car offering coffee and donuts, and just a good chat to keep them in the voting line. When one woman said she didn't want to wait any longer I gave her a long lecture of how in Virginia her vote was so important. She stayed. So while meeting Biden was a life changing experience it was the voters that made me feel better. That made me realize exactly why I put in so much time for this election. They were fired up. And they kept me going, when sometimes (especially last night) I didn't feel like I had anything left. I was running off 300 calories for the whole day, a ton of caffeine and through the roof adrenaline. But pretty soon all I had was adrenaline. And after three hours in the cold I had nothing. I couldn't give any more. I couldn't be in the cold any more. So after a while we got a ride back to campus and began watching the election results come in. It came down to Allison and I holding hands standing while CNN made yet another prediction. We were expecting they would predict Obama would win Virginia but they predicted he would win the election. None of the college dems could stand. We were all leaning on whoever we were hugging for support. We cried, and sobbed and could barely breath while we held each other. Because everything payed off in the end. And in a heartbeat I would do it all over again. November 7, 2012

Dear God

Dear God, Sometimes I feel like I am going insane during this campaign process. I feel like I am such a big part of the campaign. Many years in the past the presidential election relies heavily on voters in Virginia. But not just Virginia but NOVA, Northern VA. I have been assigned so many times to call people in NOVA I feel as though if Obama loses I will have lost too. You know how you are supposed to guide us through life? As if your hands are on our shoulders? Well I feel like Obama is standing with his shoes nice and shined on my shoulders. Not guiding me, but standing. Depending on me. Needing all of us to pull through. And while many people speculate that the crazy people are on the Republican side this is not true. One woman said she prayed to you and you told her to support Obama. No amount of praying or asking for guidance from you will tell these people who to vote for. This is the decision they need to make on their own. Yes, its scary. And while I am not praying for help or guidance because I've already cast my ballot and put my very heart and soul into this election, I am asking that the president who is elected will guide our country. Will help our country move forward not backward(not trying to refer to Obama here), improve our education system and economy even more as well as bring our country together to help form a more perfect union. Because you God cannot tell us who to vote for. We have to follow our hearts, minds and beliefs. My beliefs happen to correlate with Obama's. My mind and thinking is quite a lot like Obama's, as well as my heart. Because well, God, let's be honest, Obama is a pretty spiffy looking man. Amen. 11/5/12