Getting to experience Olympia Days and everything that it brought forth was an experience that was not only personally eye-opening, but also one that made me all the more proud to come from a community that champions agriculture. It was really rewarding to see how a group of farmers and people with farming backgrounds came together in the name of advocating for Washington wheat. I couldn’t help but think it was that image that represents our government to a “T” — ordinary people composing and making up their government, a government by the people for the people. Whether we were talking about lubricant exemptions, the dams, or rodenticides, I came out of the two days with a greater appreciation for the work that both lobbyists and elected officials do daily.
While I took away a great deal from every interaction that I had on the Capitol campus, whether it be with an elected official or administrator, the experience that I took away the most from was the dinner/social hour reception with legislators on Monday evening. At this point during Olympia Days, we had already been in many meetings and had discussed a variety of meaningful topics and issues that affect Washington wheat. Needless to say, I was expecting a time where conversation would be less focused on our issues and instead be more candid conversation. What actually occurred during the reception was the opposite of my preconceived notions, and I actually garnered some of the most meaningful conversations that I had throughout the entirety of Olympia Days. What made the interactions in the reception different from those that were held on the Capitol campus was instead of meeting with one legislator at a time, there were multiple legislators in the same room that we got to talk to in a short span of time. Something that my mom has always told me is that food brings people together. I kept that in the back of my mind throughout the night, and it proved to be very true.
One of these meaningful conversations was with Rep. Kristine Reeves. While eating our hors d’oeuvres, Rep. Reeves, Isabella (our other wheat ambassador), and I talked through the issues from a more personal perspective. Having ties to the Moses Lake area and a farming background, Rep. Reeves understood where we came from and took the time to listen to us intently, ignoring the fact that we were high schoolers or assuming that we didn’t know about agricultural issues or care as much as others. We talked about everything from the activities we both are involved in with high school to rodenticides and the need for them in the exporting of our wheat. Our conversation covered a large amount of ground in a way that helped me understand just how important civil discourse is in our republic and governmental systems. Even though on ideological terms we might not have agreed with Rep. Reeves on every issue or every ideological stance, we took the time to understand each other’s point of views, we shared a meal, and we laughed together, resulting in one of my favorite interactions of the experience as a whole — an experience that showed me what true commonality looks like.
That conversation with Rep. Reeves was one of many meaningful dialogues that Isabella and I had throughout the reception. Some conversations were more challenging and pushed our communication skills more than others, but each one was rewarding and helped us gain a better knowledge of our political systems, as well as our own ideological beliefs and why we believe the way we do.
Personally, I have always had a love for politics, political strategy, and our political systems, something that only grew throughout my experience at Olympia Days. But something also changed. Before, I saw much of my beliefs as strictly the right against the wrong, and that political strategy was doing everything to make sure that “the other side” does not succeed. After the conversations that I had through Olympia Days, though, I realized that politics is rather the science of doing your best to convince others with the perspectives that you bring to the table. For me, it is these perspectives, whether it comes from growing up in a rural landscape, a rural family, or a minority population of the state, that make my voice important and worth being heard. I will forever be grateful for Olympia Days and the interactions that I had as an ambassador for teaching me these lessons. I will most certainly take them with me into college and into life, where I will continue to advocate on behalf of agriculture.
