NATIONALS!!!! pt. 2

March came, and, as our teacher often likes to say, "it was nose to the grindstone time." Except... many of us didn't particularly seem to get it:

• We were slow in turning in our speeches. They were sloppy, forced through the languorous haze of senioritis. Half the units failed to meet the Spring Break deadline for final versions (my unit, however, got them done, partially because 2/4 of us were going to be away in Spain). One unit got their speeches in the day we got back from break, 4 days before we left for Nationals. Another was still arguing about a point in their speech 2 days before we left.
• We lacked specifics. While we were experts at BS, we could not give our follow-up answers substantial support.

But we're a smart class, and our work at nationals is a testament to our ability to work hard and achieve high results.

• Our speeches, as a team, were all commented upon by the judges as brilliant, impressive, well-prepared.
• My unit (Unit 1) had Magna Carta memorized (literally), could spew straight-up facts about the American Revolution, any of the current Middle East revolutions, and allude effortlessly to specific amendments of the Constitution. According to our teacher, one of our judges (and the writer of our textbook), Sue Leeson, loved us.
• Unit 2 had a student mention Osama Bin-Laden's death during a follow-up question, the morning right after President Obama addressed the Nation, when the news itself was hardly hours old.
• Unit 3 powered through a day's worth of competition with one member wrestling with a lost voice that rendered him unable to say the words "aspiration" and "suffrage" (both of which came up frequently).
• Unit 4 must be commended for their amazing ability to maintain composure even under the most difficult of judges -- an attorney who was able to bring up specific little details even our teacher hadn't anticipated, and an 80+ year old woman who helped found the competition and contributed to our textbook.
• Unit 5 were using specific case law as follow-up examples (i.e. Morgan v. Illinois) and throwing out direct quote after quote.
• Unit 6 had the sweetest, most touching answers, and did so well with their Sunday judge that she showed up on Monday morning to watch them again.

Sunday night, we all dressed up to the dance at the Pentagon City Mall to hear the announcement of the Top Ten. It was stressing. The units clustered into respective circles and held onto each other, waiting for New Jersey to be called. Each state that wasn't us only reduced our chances of making Top Ten. Given the fact that we were one of the most slackerish, most yelled at, most last minute classes, there was a true worry in everyone's mind that we wouldn't make it.

But we did.

I almost snapped a stiletto heel jumping up and down from excitement. We danced our way out of that mall, holding the New Jersey sign high, screaming and yelling. We had our own rave for a brief five minutes and celebrated. And then we promptly began to practice for Monday's final round.

Monday night, we dressed in our  best to the banquet/awards ceremony. Dinner wasn't particularly worth commenting on, but the awards section.... I thought announcing Top Ten was stressful. Monday night was worse.

The winners were announced backwards, from 10th place to 1st place. My unit -- Jess, Mike, Sue, and I -- sat together and held hands tightly, wishing each time that we wouldn't hear New Jersey until the very end. Sometime between 6th and 4th, Mike nearly passed out. Jess's hands were sweaty in mine. I saw Sue shaking, told her, and she promptly said "Jess, you're shaking so it's making me shake."

When 4th place was called, and it wasn't New Jersey, I literally screamed. Mike began yelling "We medaled!"

And so we, East Brunswick High School, New Jersey, won 3rd place out of 52 schools at the We the People Nationals Competition. All twenty-seven of us, including Mr. Brodman, marched up on stage and smiled for a thousand camera flashes. We got medals, which were only for the top 3. And I carried the plaque off the stage -- it was the most beautiful thing I had ever held.