Oh That’s Not So Bad

It was a warm Friday afternoon, I had all my work passed in, said my goodbyes and the school year was over for the summer. But not for everyone, only for the four of us that were going to be attending the 2019 Dirigo Boys State only a couple days later. Three other boys from Oak Hill and I all finished our work about a week early to make sure we would be all set to attend this program. It was marketed to me as a 5-day, 4-night program in which one is immersed into the world of government on both the state and town level. Hearing from people that had gone in previous years about how strict and rigorous the days were I was not excited. I signed up for the program on the idea that I would not have to take a semester-long class on government and politics. In my mind, if I’m being completely honest, I thought, “I’d rather go through a 5-day long boring hell than a semester long one”. I spent Saturday night doing some last-minute packing and making sure I had everything I would need for the next five days. I eventually laid down and slept one more time in preparation for the program. Sunday morning I woke slowly to the sun shining through my blinds and to birds singing, much like in a Disney movie, but my mentality was in a very non-Disney place, I got up and immediately was dreading the thought of immersing myself in the world of government non-stop for the next five days. When it came time to leave I slowly put my suitcase in the trunk, but unlike every other time I’ve put my suitcase in a trunk, I was not excited to arrive at the destination I was traveling to. I arrived and it appeared the monotony would begin from moment one when signing in and receiving the keys to my short-term dorm as all the other guys I walked past seemed nothing like me and the simple act of receiving the keys already felt like a drag. I walked to my room across campus, opened the door, and so day one had begun. 

My roommate had already arrived and was mostly unpacked, as I began to unpack we got talking and he told me he had already met some of the other guys and that no one really seemed super excited to be here. Great. A bunch of guys stuck on a campus talking about the government in the heat of the summer while no one wants to be there. Once we finished unpacking, the experience began. We took a preliminary test to place us in groups that would mostly agree on government decisions and all of us Oak Hill boys ended up in the same category. While we were separated most of the time, this meant that when we had our twice daily big meetings within our respective groups we would all be together. The day went on and it seemed pretty set in stone that the next four days would be boring as I had assumed. 

The next four days turned out to be some of the most fun, memorable days of that year and going forward. Day two began with the sound of my alarm clock as it did on most days. I woke up and quickly got out of bed. I got in the shower, ran through my morning routine, and felt energized for the day. At 06:01, me, along with my fellow Oak Hill companions all met for breakfast and began our first full day. Day two started with town meetings and several hours of speakers of different governmental positions. Once we all learned to accept what was going on it became a great time. Getting to know the people, whether they were fellow students, or counselors only a couple years older than us, was a blast. Some of the speakers were really interesting, talking about leadership, teamwork, etc. There were many team building exercises that were enjoyable including obstacle courses, races, and the competitiveness of being the best town. I guess you could say this was my personal version of The Breakfast Club. 

Photo on Foter.com