In March, I had the opportunity to spend a week at the state capitol as a messenger in the Florida Capitol Page and Messenger Program. I observed the legislative process first hand. It was a special experience for me because I was able to watch the session where a bill named after my cousin, Lucy, was presented. The bill, named Lucy’s Law, aims to make the waters safer by bringing the rules of the road to the ocean. Looking down into the chamber, I was fascinated that each of the 120 representatives had a say in whether or not the bill would be passed. After the bill was read, the representatives voted. I remember intently watching the screen as one by one the names of the representatives turned green by the sound of a bell. The bill was passed unanimously. The chamber erupted in applause and tears filled my eyes.
After watching the session, my mail partner and I delivered important messages to state representatives. Every day we visited the mail room and distributed mail to the offices that had deliveries. Navigating the capitol was very difficult because it had three parts: one 22-story tower and two buildings on each side of the tower. In the beginning, I was overwhelmed by the amount of elevators and stairs we needed to use, but after days of practice, I was able to find my way around the building with ease.
During the program, I also participated in a mock session where I presented my bill about boater safety. My bill proposed the idea of implementing speed cameras and speed limits in channels to prevent boaters from speeding and causing accidents. I felt like a professional when I presented my bill and responded to the questions the representatives asked. I knew exactly how to answer them because I had worked diligently on my bill all week with help from my co-sponsors and had memorized statistics that supported it.
We received feedback on how we could amend our bill so it could better explain the financial aspect. I took into consideration the ideas of my co-sponsors, and we decided that the funding for the speed cameras would come from the taxes collected from recreational boating tourism.
Out of the five bills presented in the mock session, only two bills passed, mine being one of them. I felt so proud of my co-sponsors and myself. If I felt proud of us for our bill passing through a mock session, I could only imagine how rewarding it would be to see it pass through a real one. Before the internship, I had never thought about having a job in politics, but now I think that it is an area worth exploring.
