The day started out humid, sunny, and early. We wished for more rain to come as we made our way to flag raising ceremony. Breakfast was short and sweet, almost as sweet as the maple syrup on our French toast. We loaded into buses on our way to Capitol Hill.
When we unloaded from the bus we saw a flood of red shirts disperse in all directions. In our free time, before and after meeting our U.S. Senators, we were able to explore the wonders of Washington D.C. Many ALA Girls Nation delegates, along with their Legion Boys Nation counterparts, were able to meet with their state Senators and had the opportunity to share their bills with staff. Additionally, we took pictures and spoke about federal and state issues. Aside from our meetings, we were given passes to the House and Senate galleries and also had the ability to explore the history of Capitol Hill. After a full day of sightseeing, ALA Girls Nation hosted an Inauguration for our Supreme Court justices, vice president, and president. This event allowed us to see how presidents are sworn in during their Inauguration. Following the commencement of our ceremony we went resumed Senate session to reviews bills and pass legislation.
After passing two bills we began our talent show – many talented young girls performed for all the ALA Girls Nation attendees. There was singing, dancing, piano, poetry, stand-up comedy, and “Vine Breaks.” From the amazing talent show we went to our dormitory hall to do a nightly reflection about our day on Capitol Hill.
We hope everyone had a great day in the capital of our nation and learned a lot about federal government.
– Aryann Farano, NM and Olga Diupina, WA
