irrational as pi: Things Learned at Girls State

I would like to give a big thank you to the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 585 for sponsoring my trip to Girls State.

Our city is from all over the state haha.

On the surface, Girls State is a program for rising high school senior girls across California to convene for one week at Claremont McKenna college. During that week, we learn and practice the process of government on the city, county and state level. We run for government positions, develop platforms for our political parties, and practice good citizenship by voting for candidates and sending legislation through our senators and assemblywomen. By simulating our system of government in an environment of over 500 girls, we are empowered to find our voice in the democratic process, as well as a greater sense of patriotism and duty to the country.

The City of Muir

Delving deeper within the week of Girls State, we find that living with 500 girls is not as bad as we might have anticipated. Every person walks in with fears of not fitting in, or clashing with the stereotypical “mean girl.” However, those worries and tropes simply do not exist at Girls State. After the initial awkwardness of saying “hello,” the craziest thing that exists is the strength of the bond you develop with your 30 city-mates, as well as the others in Girls State. Despite starting out as complete strangers, the friendships made during Girls State are startlingly permanent.

Kelsey County meeting

The sheer opportunities presented during that week of Girls State can be overwhelming. How the week goes for you is truly what you make of it, so I followed the advice of trying to choose early how I want to be involved with the other citizens. Coming into the program, I felt apprehensive of having to perform speeches in front of many people, especially since I was not the most politically savvy person. Accordingly, I looked towards more of the local positions, so that I could begin contributing early on and slowly build my confidence in speaking. While I did have my doubts on whether I was “not applying myself” by not “aiming high” for a state position, I reassured myself that being the city editor and working on the paper would allow me to observe the developments of Girls State while getting to meet citizens outside my city. While I could have pushed myself into a more vulnerable position by running for a higher position, and while that would have definitely challenged me to grow, I instead found another way to challenge myself and apply my strengths. By no means was it an easy feat to compile a full newspaper in a short amount of time.

Accepting my style of working hard in the background and supporting the other girls by helping their speeches and being their Verification Deputies during filing for government positions was strange at first. I tended to agree with others that the person on the stage is the only one who could be a strong leader. However, working with the girls on the paper and the girls in my city taught me that just as effective communication skills and leadership were required for important functions not necessarily performed on a stage. A voice heard from an article in the paper can be as powerful as the voice from the mic during a party platform meeting.

The Girls State of Mind Team

Each day of Girls State had my favorite moments. Some highlights of the week included working as the Editor-In-Chief for the newspaper, The Girls State of Mind, and listening to guest speakers Michelle Jackman, Kathryn Barger (Supervisor of LA County), and Betty Yee (California’s Controller). Party meetings where the Tories and Whigs had discussions on contemporary topics such as climate change, education, gun regulation, and health care were also one of my favorite parts of the week, as the level of civil and meaningful discussion that I engaged in was amazing. The most joyful, yet bittersweet, parts of the week happened near the end of Girls State, during the light ceremony and closing slide show.

Circle of Light to honor veterans

A few take aways from Girls State:

The environment is overall so judgment free that belting out Taylor Swift songs during General Assembly is not only accepted, but encouraged.

If you don’t win something, you learn from it and ask “What’s Next?” Or, if you feel dissatisfied with your current situation, ask “How can I make it better?”

People are genuinely interested in what you say, so there is no need to fear glazed eyes or worry about sounding dumb. Literally within hours of arriving at Girls State, my city knew about my craziness for coding. During platform discussions, the most passionate speakers did not have to be the loudest. And on the stage, when a girl forgot her lines and froze, the entire audience cheered and waved spirit fingers in support.
Each day I tried to apply one of the 5 P’s: Passion, Pride (in one’s work), Persistence, Professionalism, and Patience. More motivational processes included getting it done, getting it right, getting along, getting acknowledged, and having fun.
Helping others will always be returned.
Being around a lot of ASB Presidents, club leaders, and non-profit runners may make you feel insecure for approximately 2 seconds, until they show their awe at your own accomplishments and ask to learn more or input their own ideas. The experience is strangely crushing and uplifting.
Shout out to all the amazing staff writers who made it my best editor experience ever. Each person was already a great writer, unafraid to contribute ideas, and willing to take on more responsibility to meet our deadline. It was extraordinarily efficient to divide up the teams and produce a paper. Please come back to Mills to work with me :)

Each day begins with a flag raising.

From the tone of this post, it probably seems that I was in Girls State for more of the people than the politics. I thought so as well, when I was first invited by the ALA to attend. Truthfully, I had been a bit cynical about the government, and how it is able to enact positive change on our society. It seemed like government was a process of simply going through the motions, like paying for taxes, albeit every four years we hear recycled promises from politicians in exchange for votes.

Truthfully, I cannot say that Girls State has inspired me to run for state government. However, it has taught me that good politics is ultimately about the people, and how voting is not a insignificant as it seems. Politics is also what influences our education systems, our court trials, and standards of living. So even if I don’t see myself as a future politician, what is important is that I find something I really really really care about, and then work with it to help the world.

The best roomate in the world, Hannah.

Final Note:

At school rallies, I have not always been the loudest person. Sure, I had always dressed in class colors and refrained from doing my homework in the back, but actively leading cheers fell a little ways outside my zone. Not anymore, thanks to the numerous cheers and chants I learned at Girls State :)