BOSTON–December 8^th was one of the saddest days of my life: standing in a hotel lobby, looking at the wistful faces of students who wished they had a few more days, even a few more hours, to keep Fall State alive. Not to say Fall State ever dies, or ever leaves our minds once we leave. Everyone can agree, your first JSA Convention has the potential to change your life.

JSA, which stands for Junior State of America, is a completely student run organization that has three major conventions every year: Fall State, Winter Congress, and Spring State. The Fall State convention took place from Friday, December 6^th to Sunday, December 8^th at The Sheraton Boston Hotel, located in Boston, Massachusetts. Upon arriving at the hotel on Friday night, we spent the first night just settling in. The members of the Galway Chapter of JSA at this convention consisted of Andrew Wright, Caroline Conti, Emma Rheaume, Tai White, Renee Rossi, Devin Collins, Conor Bradshaw, Nathan Hammond, Jennifer Rumsey, Julia Seely, Alecia Hennesy, Katelyn Gailor, Sara Larocca, Amber Decker, Lizzi Topper, and our President Molly Wood. After getting a full night’s rest, our chapter awoke with determination to make our first full day at Fall State memorable.

On Saturday December 7^th, the venue was filled with energy. After The Galway Chapter had finished their morning coffees, we entered a very large room in which we had an introduction to the convention. Over an hour long, all of our new members, including myself, were all anxious to see what the debates would be like. None of the Chapter went to sleep disappointed that day. We soon found out that debate topics bounced around from being serious, emotional, hilarious, energetic, or all of those at once. The debates varied from decriminalization of marijuana, to prisoners given the right to vote, all of them were intriguing at the least. After a lunch break and a few debates in the afternoon, we were given a period in which we enjoyed the defense of Kanye West and Taylor Swift, with both parties being represented by a speaker. While this was entertaining, it was no match for the dance that was held that night. The dance, which ended at midnight, took all the energy of Fall State and threw it into one room. Nearly everyone left the dance floor drenched in sweat and happiness, sleeping the rest of the night away with satisfaction of the first day of Fall State.

Waking up was probably the second hardest part of the last day of Fall State, the first being having to leave. The second day was very similar to the first debate schedule wise, with an earlier lunch time and a shortened afternoon schedule for the closing session. The closing session was almost somber, with many awards given such as the best speakers of each debate. Once the closing session ended, a flood of emotions were let loose. Students were hugging each other, some crying, bidding goodbye until Winter Congress. Sunday, December 8^th was one of the saddest days of my life. Having to say goodbye to all of my newly made friends was heartbreaking, and gave me an extreme amount of anticipation for Winter Congress, for which The Galway Chapter is fundraising. JSA affected all of our lives tremendously, and when I talked to the President of our Chapter, Molly Wood, she said “This convention gave me so many new opportunities, skills, friends, and opinions and was by far one of the best experiences of my life. JSA has been a truly amazing part of my life and I have been extremely blessed to have the opportunity to attend these conventions and be the president of such an amazing chapter. I cannot wait to see what Winter Congress will bring in just less than two months and what else I will gain from JSA in the next two years.”

Yes, JSA certainly has given me a new sense of knowledge, leadership, and outgoingness, but it also gave me so many amazing friendships and connections that I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else. Knowing Winter Congress is just around the corner in February is exhilarating, and I can almost not contain my excitement. Go JSA!

If you would like to make a contribution to our chapter, please visit this link! Thank you! http://fundraise.jsa.org/fundraise?fcid=267086