Politics filled with enthusiasm, hard work

Want to be chased by dogs? Sworn at by passing motorists? Yelled at by angry homeowners you just woke up? My advice: Join a political campaign.

During this past summer I was an intern for Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s congressional campaign, and although I joke about the “wild life” of the campaign trail, the benefits of volunteering for a political campaign are truly invaluable. My experiences changed my perspective on life and transformed me in one short summer.

At the beginning of the summer I was the stereotypical self-absorbed high school teenager: I spent my days watching TV and ransacking the fridge for food. Then one day, as I was watching TV, another one of those endless political ads came on the screen. I almost changed the channel, but suddenly I realized, why not join a political campaign? I had always had a desire to become one of those politicians Americans love to hate and hate to pay, so I did some research and eventually decided to apply to Hannemann’s campaign.

As I drove to the campaign office my head and stomach began to revolt. Anxiety took over as I began telling myself what a fool I was. I was a high school student who hadn’t even taken a civics or government class, yet, here I was applying to intern at a campaign.

After a short interview with the campaign manager, I was accepted. The next day I went into the campaign office and was assigned my first task, data entry. It was an arduous and boring task that seemed to take forever, but I was at least happy that I could contribute something to the campaign.

Throughout the summer, I experienced almost every facet of the campaign process. From sign waving to canvassing (going door to door asking homeowners who they are voting for), Fourth of July parades, phone banking, photographing events, transcribing the speeches of opposing candidates, performing research for debates, typing up short news releases for the campaign website, and of course, taking out the trash. I tried it all and I loved it.

I thought that I would eventually lose that initial excitement for the campaign, but I never did. I always enjoyed and looked forward to going to the campaign office day after day. This constant enthusiasm was due in large part to the amazing campaign volunteers who exuded both passion and kindness through both the ups and downs of the campaign.

All of these efforts eventually culminated in a 17-hour marathon of nonstop work on election day. So, after all these countless hours of work over the course of the campaign, it was a huge disappointment when Hannemann lost the Democratic primary. I had always assumed that hard work, dedication and perseverance were the ingredients for success. I had seen those qualities in every single campaign staff member, volunteer and in Mayor Hannemann.

It was disillusioning to say the least, but even while that lesson didn’t ring true for me on election night, another lesson did. I had also been taught that as long as you try your best, you can be proud of what you did. I was one high school student, yet I was able to contribute significantly to a cause that 39,169 other people of Hawaii supported. I had changed from an apathetic self-absorbed teenager on a couch, to a passionate supporter of a cause I came to truly believe in. I made a difference and fought for something that represented more than just me, a remarkable feat in itself.