"What Participating in the Mock Election Meant to Me"

An Essay, A Declaration, and Some Spare Change
Sohum Pawar

It’s amazing what a difference one word can make: “Yes.” That was my response last October, when I was asked to participate in the National Student/Parent Mock Election. Almost eight months later, that “yes” took me to the New Jersey State Museum, in Trenton, and found me standing next to the Declaration of Independence.

I had been invited there to read an essay I wrote about my experiences in the Mock Election, as part of a joint celebration of New Jersey’s 345th birthday and its outstanding participation in the Mock Election. The star attraction of the celebration were the state’s twin “birth certificates;” the original charter establishing the colony of New Jersey, and the only traveling original copy of the Declaration of the Independence.

My role in the celebration began as a part of the student honor guard that escorted the Declaration and New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine into the State Museum. As I walked toward the museum, I found myself looking around in all directions, drinking in my surroundings. It was my first exposure to such a large event, and I was enthralled by it. As the procession surrounding the Declaration entered the museum, (with our own “honor guard” of reporters) I let out a small gasp. The place was packed! The honor guard and dignitaries proceeded to the front of the room, the Declaration was placed inside a glass case, and the celebration began. After an introduction and a welcome were given, the Honor Guard recited the Pledge of Allegiance, and our official duties were concluded. Not for me, though.

I slipped into a suit and took a seat right in the front row, ready to read my essay. The Governor spoke, as well as many other distinguished guests and state officials, captivating everyone. And then, in what seemed like no time at all, it was my turn to speak. I was introduced, and I walked to the podium. I gazed out at the rows
and rows of people, put on my best smile, and began to read my essay.

I had written it with a very optimistic, almost dramatic feeling in mind, and I was surprised by how responsive the audience was. They matched the tone of each section perfectly, laughing along to the many jokes. I was having the time of my life! Finally, when the essay concluded with a call to elect me as President in another 20-odd years, my final words of “Thank you, and Happy Birthday, New Jersey!” were drowned out by an eruption of applause. It was completely unlike what I had expected: it was a hundred times better! I lost count of the number of people I spoke with after that, such was my excitement. After a brief conversation and photo with the Governor, I was ushered downstairs, to be interviewed about my experiences that day.

After a while, I walked back up into the museum, and wandered around until I found myself in front of the Declaration once again. As I gazed upon the aged parchment, I found myself thinking about all the values it represented, the principles it had established. I began to subconsciously make connections between the Declaration and the events that had compelled me to write my essay. The American Revolution had marked the beginning of a change in attitude, the rise of the idea that the people should have direct control over their lives.

And it was happening again in another form. My essay had been about how many people, including the students at my school, had been motivated by programs like the Mock Election to take control of their own lives and make an impact on the lives of others. And once again, it showed the power of a single word, in this case, “Change.” A word overused to the point where it had begun to lose its meaning. But, as my essay related, people of all ages had begun to take a more active role in the world, a surge of curiosity that would be followed by a tsunami of action.

“Redefining Change.” That was the title of my essay. It was a testament to the power of inspiration that had compelled me to write the essay, and had brought me to Trenton. It was the same inspiration that had given me the strength, two weeks earlier, to win my school’s Student Council Presidency while home, sick with the flu. As I gazed at the Declaration, this “birth certificate,” I felt inspired once again. Over 200 years ago, a group of brave people sparked one of the greatest changes in history, by signing a copy of the very document that now sat in front of me.

They say that opportunity ”doesn’t knock twice.” Well if that’s true, then inspiration, the desire to do something in the world, knocks once in a lifetime.