Although I have enjoyed every moment of this past month and a half, this last week of my internship has definitely been the best. I say that because, in the past week, I saw my work here come full circle. I spent Monday being trained on how to train other youth advocates. The following day, I was to lead a group of young teens as they lobbied on the Hill for the RACE for Children Act as part of Kids v Cancer’s Youth Lobby Day. I couldn’t sleep on Monday night because I was so excited and nervous at the same time; I couldn’t wait to meet my group and help them with their little speeches, but I was worried that they might not like or respect me.
The day ended up going even better than I could’ve hoped for. I met with my group around 8:30am, and, with a little help from my extremely large iced coffee, we jumped right into the excitement of the day. My group consisted of Sarah (12), Emily (13), Julianna (14), and David (15). We all got along super well right from the start. We introduced ourselves and got to learn about each other’s connections to childhood cancer. Sarah is a cancer survivor, Emily and David’s father survived childhood cancer, and the same is the case for Julianna’s older sister.
To say there was resilience in that group would be an understatement; these kids bounced back and then some.
The day continued as I taught them a little about the RACE for Children Act and how to conduct a meeting, and then we held mock meetings to help them prepare and build their confidence. I remember how nervous I was when I was going through this training, so I was beyond impressed by how well these kids carried themselves. They were so 
passionate, well-spoken, and downright convincing. I had no concerns when I sent them into their first meeting…or the four meetings after that. Kids v Cancer hosted this day in hopes of benefitting the kids, but I think the kids ended up benefitting our fight for RACE! Overall, I had so much fun leading my group. We were joking around and telling stories all day, but they got serious when they knew they needed to. I went into the day in hopes of teaching them something, but they were the ones who taught me. These kids took a day out of their beloved summer to come all the way to DC and advocate for something they believed in. It was beautiful, powerful, and inspiring. It was such an honor to meet them, and now I have four new friends (whether they like it or not)! I think we could all learn a thing or two from these kids, the most important being that it’s never too early to start fighting for something you’re passionate about.
