In Hindsight.

In recent thinking, I still find it hard to get around the fact that I - and 600 of my peers made history last October. Never will you be able to comprehend the honour of sitting on those green chairs for the first time, unless you actually do it yourself. It was fantastic. Best moment of my life.

C'est tout!

So what can I say about Friday? I had a complete whale of a time. I suppose it still hasn't sunk in yet, just what we, as a generation, have achieved.

Think about it this way, in legal terms, a life sentence is 30 years. We were the first people in the Commons for 300 years who were not MPs. Thus, not only was this a once in a lifetime opportunity, it was a once in TEN lifetimes' opportunity. It would not perhaps be inappropriate to say "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind", but maybe a little OTT.

For me, the honour of being chosen to speak is second to none I have ever had in my life. There were some points that I did not agree with in any part, but as Harry and Mr Speaker said, that is the beauty of democracy. The media coverage has been staggering, though of course there were some reports I did not appreciate due to their condescending and derogatory nature. Certainly, in our society we have the right to free speech, however, I have just as much right to disagree! I hope people reading this will appreciate that young people are just that, people in our own right. I spoke at a conference, as I have already mentioned, on exactly this subject. I had feedback from one of my local councillors who said "I never looked at young people in such a way, maybe I will now". Point taken?

People often ask me how to communicate with a young person. The answer? With respect and not in a patronising way. Treat us how you would like to be treated. Just because we are young does not mean we have no life experience. Certainly, we may not have to pay a mortgage, we may not quite understand high finances and maybe, just maybe, we are more bothered by what's for dinner than the state of the stock market. This makes us no less human. If you ask young people, especially those involved in anti-social behaviour, why they act how they do, there is pretty much ALWAYS a reason for it, such as family problems, bereavement, peer pressure etc. I could list you countless experiences I have had, or my friends have had, or people I have simply spoken to have had, but that would turn this into a "pity me, I'm so weak" blog. Certainly not. Life is not about what is thrown at you, but about how you deal with it. I wonder if some journalists took this into account, they might have been more human about the event. Rant over :)

I must say though, the feedback I have received from my peers and teachers has been phenomenal. A friend said "It was really nice to see all of you there, representing our views. As you said, you were there for us, not just for yourself". So for that, I would like to thank everyone who was positive and gave the day a good vibe, and those who were less so for giving me something to blog about. And of course, everyone who facilitated, organised and made the day happen, especially John Bercow, who I think did an absolutely sterling job. I would like to congratulate my fellow MYPs, thank the PGs and thank you, yes you, for reading. I hope I have given you some insight into the workings of the "youth of today" (I hate that phrase!) and given you something to think about, and maybe have brightened your day. The latter, perhaps, is a little optimistic, but I wish it all the same.

And yes, I did fall over in my heels... What did you expect?!

A lasting legacy.

We debated in the House of Commons!! The day was amazing. It showed the level of debate young people could reach. To me, it showed that young people have both intelligent and simple answers, to issues that politicians run away from . We were upfront, passionate, considerate of the views of others and ambitious. We were sure this event would be a hallmark for the young people in the Youth Parliament for years to come, and we were right.

I was amazed at the amount of press coverage received as well. Many programmes on many radio stations and television channels broadcast the run up to the event, the event itself and the aftermath, publicising the need for youth participation, the issues to be discussed and the history surrounding it. The event was scattered all over the Internet in an unimaginable and unprecedented amount of blogs, of articles, in forums, leaflets, websites of all kinds, in all shapes, opinions and views. It hit major headlines, it caused breaking news. It was everywhere, even in the metro!

My part to play was on the BBC Breakfast news and the Radio 4 Today programme with James Naughtie and Justin Webb. Charity and I were on that programme to discuss the issues we were to bring up in the commons, mainly crime and unemployment. We then headed over to Millbank to do a BBC World Service Broadcast where the correspondent was asking us to compare Barack Obama and Gordon Brown.

Just to say, there were some comments in the Commons which I wholly disagreed with. But, that's what makes our democracy so important, the freedom of choice, and the freedom of re-choice as the speaker quite rightly said.

I'm not sure how we'll top this, I'm not sure if it needs topping. What it has done has proved our worth and our passion for national issues. It has cemented in history, the activism and projects we have been doing in our local areas. It stood the test of controversy, it stood the test of those MPs against it and it won.

Well done everyone.

Harry

"It's the final countdown!"

Come on, you had to see that title coming!

So, I have literally just hopped off the train from a South West Regional meeting. I had not seen my lovely region since the Annual Sitting in July, and I can honestly say I am proud to be working with such an amazing group of people. The atmosphere of our meetings is so warm and no matter which walk of life you come from, you will be accepted into the group, no question. Today, Fliss is a happy bunny :)

SO: TOMORROW! It feels so good to be saying that! It's surreal to think that in 12 hours' time, I will be waking up ready to go to London for the most historic day in 300 years of British democracy - I am a part of history! I can't quite get my head around it. This is something to tell the Grandkids! I feel quite nervous in a way, for the first time in a while, I am actually shy, something of a startled deer. Anyone who knows me will think this is really unusual, that's for sure.

I've spent the last two weeks walking in my "Commons shoes" (very important!) but you can guarantee that the one falling over on national television WILL be me. As any girl will know, shoes are important! Seriously though, for everyone, the issue of what to wear has been a tough one. We are young people, we represent young people. This is our opportunity to be taken properly seriously as opinionated citizens. It's easy for adults to patronise young people as innocent and naive with not a lot ticking away up there in our hormone ravaged brains. Indeed, in February I went to Berlin on a school trip, and I am not joking, this elderly couple said "They look like a flood of walking hormones!" Yeah, great, thanks :S

We may be "walking hormones" now, but in the future, we will be the ones running this country and making those important decisions. Oh wait, hold on... We already are!

So folks, feast your eyes. Remember 30th October 2009 as a date in history. I know I certainly will.

Time left at time of publication: 17.5 Hours and counting....

TOMORROW!!!!

Wow, so it all kicks off!

Tomorrow 300 hundred members of youth parliament will head to the house of commons to make history, feeling excitement mixed with nerves many travelling from further afield are already in london!

The media coverage of the event is HUGE, I personally have done a interview with BBC world service, guys UKYP is going GLOBAL!! Tomorrow we're in talks to have coverage from BBC, Itv, Channel 4, Five Live and the today program. The event will be shown on BBC parliament at 430.

I think a huge thank you needs to be said to all the staff at UK youth parliament, the event tomorrow wouldn't be happening without them, and it's thanks to their continuing support and encouragement that allows us to go on and be the best that we can be. So thank you guys, it's really appreciated.

Tomorrow is set to be an amazing day, I have to say I am very nervous at the prospect of doing my speech tomorrow but I am very excited too :)

I look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow

Tessa