Second place winner Matthew Beckwith Saratoga Springs High School

How I Became a Political Junkie

Life is filled with obstacles and challenges. How we respond to these challenges defines us as a person. If we remain stuck in the past, we fail to grow as individuals. Helen Keller once said "When one door of happiness closes another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door we do not see the one that has been opened for us." I had an experience like this once, but fortunately, I was able to see the door that had been opened for me, and I'm very grateful for it.

It began with the day I was cut from freshman baseball. This was a disappointment, and marked the end of my baseball career. It was such a sad milestone: Baseball defined my childhood, as it does with so many young boys, and I felt aimless without it. That night, as I moped around my house, the phone rang. When I picked up, it was the campaign office of Scott Murphy, Democratic nominee for the 20th U.S. Congressional District of New York. They asked me if I was voting for Mr. Murphy in the upcoming election. I let them know that I was only 14, and then, much to my surprise, the lady on the other end asked me if I had any interest in volunteering on the campaign. The notion struck me: My only real experience with politics came from watching The West Wing, but my curiosity was piqued, and I said I would volunteer after school the next day.

I arrived at the phone bank headquarters around three the next day. Inside, I could hear the clamor of phones and machine gun dialogue. It sounded like excitement. The people inside greeted me with polite indifference, except for one small, energetic woman named Mary Marsicano. She took me through the proper phone etiquette, and taught me how to work the computer system. Never once did she talk down to me, or write me off because of my age. Instead she instilled in me an excitement about politics. It was about helping people, and helping people understand the major issues of the day.

Before I could help anyone understand the major issues of the day I had to learn about them myself. I began to engross myself in every aspect of the national political spectrum. It was an overwhelming barrage of information. And I loved it. I loved working in the campaign office after school every day. I loved talking to people on the phone and fielding their questions. I loved it so much I didn't even mind it when I had to deal with rude people. I loved learning. For the first time in my life I felt I was dealing with important matters. Baseball seemed trivial, because I was a part of a Congressional election! I read articles and watched CNN about the campaign, and in my free time I daydreamed about political strategy and campaign platforms.

Every day I spent in the campaign office I gained real world experience, and matured faster than I ever had before in my life. On my breaks I would talk to Mary, or the other volunteers (all adults), or try and eavesdrop in on the conversations the strategists had behind closed doors. The election was a tight one, and the thrill grew every day.

Eventually, Scott Murphy won the election, but that was hardly the most important thing to me. I'd become a political junkie, a 15 year old with an insatiable appetite for policy and strategy. I would go on to be the youngest intern in the Congressional office, working through the Obama health care debates. I saw that government could be a tool for good, where everyone could come together and be treated fairly and equally. No one will ever convince me government is evil or too corrupt to be redeemed. I've seen its value first hand.

Now, Scott Murphy is no longer a Congressman, and Mary Marsicano passed away just this past week. But their influence played an indelible role in shaping me. I have every intention of studying political science in college, and I'd like to work as a political speechwriter upon my graduation. That campaign changed my life, and changed me. I'll never be able to think the same way again, and all because the universe conspired to make it so. It seems that being cut from freshman baseball may have been the best thing ever to happen to me.