Badger Boys State Narrative

At the end of my junior year of high school I was told that I was chosen, along with one other junior boy, to be a primary delegate to attend Badger Boys State, a week long youth program at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin that brings more than eight hundred and fifty boys together to learn about leadership and the United States Government. Although only one week of my life, I can confidently say that Badger Boys State is one of the best and most significant experiences I have ever had.

The main point of Badger Boys State was to learn about how the United States Government functioned by truly being a part of it ourselves. Badger Boys State, in essence, was a student government where participants could hold city, county, and state level positions. Badger Boys State "cities" consisted of approximately thirty boys (my city was called "Randall"), each county was made up of three cities, and the state consisted of all Badger Boys State participants. I

It was just us: thirty young men, and our two city counselors. I vividly remember the theme of the discussion: "What is your biggest goal and biggest fear in life?" What I heard that night from people I still barely knew astonished me. The hopes and fears that I heard from my fellow city members truly inspired me to work hard in life and do whatever I can to face my fears. When it was finally my turn to share with the group, I told everyone that my biggest goal was to do well in high school and college, find my dream job, have a family, and be happy. That goal may sound very ordinary, but that is truly my dream for the future. Next, I told everyone that my biggest fear was to lose motivation in life. I explained how I work so hard in high school because I have the motivation of my goal that I mentioned previously. If I lost this motivation, I do not know where I would