The Debate

The moment Senators Barack Obama and John McCain took the stage at the Ford Center, my jaw and ears began to hurt because my smile was stretched so widely across my face.

I was one of the fortunate few who had a ticket. I was one of the proud 150 Ole Miss students who saw live and in-person the most historic debate since Kennedy and Nixon.

Cliches such as "my heart swelled with pride", "my face was beaming", and (literally), "tears sprung to my eyes", they don't do justice to the emotions that I felt.

But they are the closest I can accurately describe that one moment.

Moments before their appearance, I was making giggly, nervous small talk with other winners. There was definitely a sense of camaraderie amongst the winners. We were asking the usual questions, "What is your major, where are you from, how did you win a ticket?", etc., etc.

Then we began to take notice of the broadcasters below us, (Katie Couric was directly below me), and everyone began leaning over the balcony like completely unsophisticated tourists, leering and pointing. "There's Katie Couric. Look, it's Bob Schieffer. There's Shepard Smith. Ooh, and there's Tom Brokaw."

Katie caught my eye as we were gawking down at her, and instinctively I waved, immediately feeling foolish but grinning like a dope when she waved back. It was great, silly fun. We didn't care how lame we looked. Then, Dr. Robert Khayat asked the winners to stand and be recognized. John Kerry turned and waved at us. That was quite a moment. But it was soon eclipsed. The Senators took the stage and our silliness completely evaporated and was replaced by ear-splitting grins and more than a few watery eyes.