As I wheeled my suitcase to the back of the bus, I thought about what this weekend trip could hold for me. I was gearing up for my second session of Harvard Model Congress over February break. My first time attending was last year, and I planned to get so much more involved this year. Each individual, or delegate, attending is assigned to a committee. 

This year, I was assigned to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where we were given briefings on securing the energy infrastructure of the United States and PFAS, or “forever chemicals.”

In my committee of about 60 people, each person had a unique understanding of politics and a fresh perspective to bring to debating and bill writing. I met people who flew from other countries just to be in Boston for this four-day conference. I met people who spent hours on the train coming into the city for this event. 

Most importantly, though, I met people who made lasting impressions on my character, my values, and my perspectives of those around me.

The first person I met, a girl from my own school, was Kenzie. We were assigned to the same committee and stuck together during our first few sessions. Although I’d seen her around the halls many times throughout the school year, I never really got to know her until then. 

The first thing we talked about was the condition of the bus on the ride down. It was sweltering hot, and most of us were in business-casual outfits or sweatsets that definitely did not help. 

Every time we hit a bump on the highway, the inside panel of the bus would slam against the wall loudly. We genuinely thought the bus was falling apart, and ended up laughing about it until we arrived at the Boston Sheraton. 

The first night, Kenzie and I sprinted through Boston in search of the nearby Chick-Fil-A. I remember many things going wrong for me on that walk. 

To start, I was in heels. The concept isn’t all that bad until you have to keep pace with someone who isn’t. 

Second, the heels I was wearing were just a little too big. I couldn’t really walk more than three steps without having to put one—or both—back on. 

Third, the Chick-Fil-A was packed. There were people squished together in a long, winding line waiting to order on the first floor, and every seat was taken upstairs.

Everything else earlier in the day went phenomenally, though, so this was only a small bump in the road on my way to an amazing weekend. 

I didn’t expect to learn anything this soon, but while spending this weekend in and out of committee sessions, Kenzie showed me that there is value in letting things unfold as they will. 

I found myself being okay with the idea of not showing up to get our Chick-Fil-A mobile order right on time. I also found myself feeling more comfortable with actually venturing through the Prudential Center during our breaks instead of just staying at the hotel to be early, because we were still right on time in the end. 

I used to run a pretty tight schedule, and always wanted to be a few minutes early, but she proved that being on time is more than enough.

The first girls that Kenzie and I introduced ourselves to, Sonia and Alexa, came from a wealthy Latin School in Chicago. I first noticed the way they spoke; drawn-out A’s that made “stop” sound more like “stahp.” 

Alexa was certainly more confident than Sonia and had gone up to speak in front of the delegates more than a few times by the end of our first session. When discussing public speaking with her, she explained that it was something she’d always been interested in, and that she “loved the opportunities [she] got at Harvard Model Congress to do so.”

Sonia was more timid, but her skills shone in the bill-writing process. I immediately admired her ability to express her jumbled-up thoughts cleanly and sensibly on our bill template. Our bill turned out to be impressively well written.

 Unfortunately, we were unable to present it to our committee, but I have no doubts that Alexa, Sonia, Kenzie, and I would’ve convinced almost everyone to vote in favor of our bill. In an interview with Sonia, she told me that she “wishes she could’ve seen the success of our bill.”

That first night, my body hummed with that lingering excitement you feel when you try something out of your comfort zone and actually end up being good at it. It was only the first committee session of the weekend, and I could already feel myself learning new things. Not just things about bill writing, or about Kenzie, Sonia and Alexa, but about my own character as well.

Upon returning to Back Bay D for our second session of the weekend, the Harvard students running our committee decided to shuffle around our seats. They decided to put my placard in the back of the room, where I sat next to Ryan. 

She was spunky and smart, but definitely didn’t want to be there. Despite her lack of interest in being in committee, she still spoke in front of everyone. 

As we continued to talk over the course of the session, I learned about her dreams and aspirations. This fall, she’ll be starting college at a prestigious university in Louisiana, one that she had told me was at the top of her list. 

I remember her telling me, “Gov stuff isn’t really my thing, but I just wanted to see what this was all about.” Those words resonated with me. I would say I’m a stronger math and science student than a civics student, and when it came to HMC, I definitely felt the same as she did. 

After one of her speeches, she told me that “it’s really not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.” I kept that in the back of my mind until one of our last committee sessions, where I motioned to extend a Pro-Con speaker’s list—a roster of delegates who choose to advocate for or against a bill—and spoke as a proponent of the bill in question. Being on this list was my first solo speech of the weekend. 

Although I didn’t take into account her advice until she’d already left, Ryan showed me that there is value in taking risks and stepping out of your comfort zone.

Soon enough, our day two lunch break was over, and we were back in session. This time, they had every delegate partner up with someone whose favorite candy was the same as theirs. I ended up matching with Josh. 

He was a tall, kind-eyed Nebraskan with a sweet and seemingly perpetual smile. His hair was a unique shade, almost a strawberry blonde, and it reached just past his shoulders. Looking back, I think it was the very reason I noticed him in the first place. 

To say that we instantly clicked would be an understatement. We talked and laughed together like two old friends catching up with each other. Since we both enjoy music and the performing arts, we talked a lot about those shared interests. 

And of course, we also talked about how Three Musketeers is the best candy of all time. 

We bonded even further over how our general area was barely being called on to make speeches. Every time we raised our placards, our committee chairs would completely overlook us. 

Every time, we would lower our placards, sigh in unison, then glance at each other and laugh under our breath. 

Josh was a sure-footed speaker. When he finally was called on, he walked up confidently and projected his voice in a way that got you to agree with his point no matter where you stood on the issue. In a way, I admired that about him.

After one of his longer speeches, he admitted that he had actually been pretty nervous while delivering it. I reassured him that he spoke with so much conviction that even people who initially disagreed with the topic would probably believe it now.

Looking back on that moment now, I wish I had asked him how he did it—how he stood up there so confidently and hid his nerves behind a convincing mask of certainty, or how he managed to jot only a few words down on his steno pad and make sense of it while delivering a speech. 

As I watched him speak, I tried to notice what he was doing. He took a brief moment to ground himself before speaking instead of jumping right in. He made eye contact with many of the delegates in the room. He glanced down at his notes for merely a second before continuing on. 

Eventually I tried these same techniques when giving my speech on the last day. Spoiler alert: they worked like a charm. 

Taking a moment to get myself in the right headspace at the podium by breathing deeply set me up for a successful speech.

On our third day, we had our first Full Session. Full Session is another type of conference where four different committees meet to pass bills. Each committee has one previously-passed bill on the docket, and the environment caters to those who haven’t read the briefings for the other committees. 

Since I didn’t know anyone from the other committees, I sat with people from my own. Josh and I found seats in the front row, and another girl from our committee sat down next to me. Her name was Altea. I had never really talked to her until this session, but I knew her from the number of impressive speeches she had given in our committee meetings. 

The first thing that stuck out to me about her was her passion. I was instantly hooked by every word she said. Sitting next to her, I could read her detailed notes on each bill on the docket and see the ‘MIT Model UN’ logo on her notepad. 

That notepad told me everything I needed to know about her speaking. This was everything to her. 

Outside of her fierce public speaking, however, she was friendly and kind. At the end of Full Session, I kept thinking about the lasting impact her voice had on me. 

To me, the contrast between who she was in front of an audience versus who she was to her peers became obvious despite the short amount of time I’d known her. This realization pushed me to not only step out of my comfort zone in public speaking, but also to step outside of the quieter version of myself that simply sat in committee. 

The last people I met came in our final committee session: Lorelai and Arianna. Two of the most down to earth girls I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. 

They were passionate about our bill, which we titled the “Cut it Out Act.” Lorelai, Arianna, Kenzie and I all brainstormed possibilities for making positive change in the security and safety of our country, eventually settling on providing tax cuts to companies that switched a percentage of their energy use from fossil fuels to renewable resources. 

We got to bond even more while passing notes throughout committee. Our chairs allowed it, and it was the only way we successfully finished writing our bill. 

Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we were never able to present our bill. However, I did hand it in to our main chairperson, and she gave excellent feedback on our work. 

I tend to be someone who falls into leadership roles of group work, but working with Lorelai and Arianna taught me to take a step back and allow other people to contribute equally. 

My trip to Boston was filled with public speaking, friendship, and learning. I learned not only about legislative actions, parliamentary procedure, and bill writing, but also about myself. 

Kenzie taught me to let go of the firm grip I held on my schedule. She showed me that life is a lot more stress-free when you don’t worry about being extra early to everything. In a way, I learned that you actually get to enjoy activities when you don’t focus as much on leaving an extra five minutes early as a “just in case” measure on top of the one you already made.

Sonia and Alexa taught me how to be a confident speaker and a clear writer. In watching Alexa give her speeches, I saw true passion for public speaking that I wished to embody in speeches of my own. Sonia’s writing was an excellent blueprint for writing bills in the future.

Ryan taught me that pushing the boundaries of what I was comfortable with doing will ultimately pay off. Even if you feel that it was a huge failure, you still learn from the unsuccessful moments. 

Josh taught me to be confident in my voice, even if the emotions I convey aren’t the same as the emotions I really feel. In watching his subtle body language, I found that I can turn my nervous energy into passion while speaking. 

Altea taught me how to step out of who I am as an observer and step into a different, more confident persona in front of a crowd. She proved to me that a purely kind heart is a necessity for fierce debate. 

Lorelai and Arianna taught me how to allow others to contribute to group projects. More often than not, the ideas of those you work with end up being better than what you could’ve thought of. Taking insight from multiple different people with different perspectives makes for a stronger group in the end.

I still keep in touch with these people, too. Even though we’re all hours away from each other, I find myself excited to see every one of them again. I look forward to the idea of learning more both from and about them when I see them again.