There were so many things I had on my to do list this summer that I didn’t get accomplished. I wanted to finish writing my novel, resume clarinet lessons (maybe play in municipal band), join a tennis league, make a dent in the list of must-read books I started my sophomore year. But then I joined the Billion for Governor Campaign and that to-do list kind of fell apart.
I wouldn’t say I changed this summer, but rather, I came into myself. I learned I could connect with people on a whole new level. I learned I knew how to put my foot down and tell someone they were wrong. I got used to conversing intellectually. I experienced aspects of South Dakota I didn’t even know existed. I made friends with people of all ages, some of which I will never forget. There isn’t anyone I met this summer that I don’t want to see again.
My mom asked me this morning if I felt like I even had a summer. I told her that this summer has been entirely different than any other summer I’ve experienced. Did everything go right? No. Are there things I would change? Yes. Do I have any regrets? Absolutely not. If I made any mistake it was that I always saw an end. I always thought everything was going to have to stop and I didn’t let myself get attached. Maybe that was wrong and maybe I hurt some people. But I knew leaving South Dakota was going to be hard enough, and I thought that by always being aware of the end, I’d make the leaving part easier. I realized last night though that what I did this summer isn’t going to make leaving more or less difficult–I’ll still probably cry and that first week of school will be rough–but it will make the next four years mean that much more to me, because I really felt like I was a part of something this summer, something that is going to make a difference in the lives of many people.
This was an opportunity of a lifetime (I mean, I friggin wrote the campaign Health Care platform), and it was the perfect preparation for the phase of my life that begins next Wednesday. No matter what happens in the next few years, I know I will always have the Campaign, the people from the Campaign, and the lessons I learned from the Campaign with me, because they made me a stronger, more driven person, and they are how I know I will be successful at Middlebury (oh, and add my family to that mix, too).
In other news: I’m so glad that all my friends are loving school. It’s weird being the only one left, but I’m so busy that I probably wouldn’t see them anyway. How did I get so busy? I mean, I didn’t think I put anything off this summer, but suddenly, between packing and reading and shopping and seeing family and organizing and scheduling, I don’t think I’m going to have a minute to spare between now and when I leave on Tuesday. But maybe that’s a good thing; it leaves less time to think about the fact that I only have three nights left in my room. Holy crap! Only 3? When did that happen? 
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Amy Pokela: Are you sure about the 90,000 uninsured number?
Jack Billion: Of course I’m sure – Emily Gullickson said it was true.