Being accepted and then attending New York Boys State were two separate journeys that marked a new beginning in my life. Before Boys State, I never even heard of it, it was completely unknown to me which frightened me but at the same time increased my curiosity. My guidance counselor was the one who presented it to me believing that I would be an excellent candidate. I still couldn’t just attend Boys State, I had to go through an interview with my town’s American Legion who would be sending me to Boys State.
I already knew that the interview wasn’t going to be easy because going to Boys State was a huge honor and they weren’t going to accept an average student. I knew I had to be successful in my interview and present myself in the best way possible in order to attend Boys State. I still remember sitting in the car before my interview and begging my mom to take me home because I was still very nervous about it. “Was I going to freeze up? ” “Was I going to get embarrassed? ” were some of the questions going through my head.
All dressed up, I nervously sat down for the interview in front of the president and vice-president of the American Legion. “Sit up straight. ” “Answer the questions efficiently. ” “Smile Tanner. ” Were just just some commands I had going through my head as the interview went on. I knew that if I kept controlled that the interview would be a success and I would sent honorably to New York Boys State. After the interview had been completed I smiled, shook the mens’ hands and walked out. Three days later I got the call. I was going to be sent to Boys State!
Now that I look back, I remember not being very excited. I had no idea what was going to happen there. If only I knew about the experiences I would go through. Instead, I was content being accepted. However, the clear goal and experience of Boys State was very confusing, even after my guidance counselor and the leaders at American Legion explained what was going to happen there. All I knew was that I was going to Morrisville College, where Boys State was held, for six days at the end of the school year. I would’ve never had expected what actually occurred while I was there.
My experiences were life changing. Barely awake, I shuffled to the bathroom on a beautiful, summer morning at the crack of dawn. Had my two bags packed full of clothes, toiletries, baseball glove, etc, and chucked them into the back of my dad’s car with bagel in mouth and coffee in hand. “Leave your phone inside. ” my dad said to me, it was forbidden to have phones for the duration of my time at Boys State. Said my final goodbyes and I was off to the Park and Ride to catch my bus for an 8 hour ride to Morrisville.
