Karoll Farias
Bob Hope High School

If you are new to Texas Youth and Government, welcome to the chaos. The fun chaos that will last a lifetime and create many fond memories.

Here you’ll get to argue with people on purpose, wear business clothes, and learn incredibly interesting things about the government. You don’t have to know a lot about the government to have fun because you’ll learn along the way with no pressure. Youth and Government is not here to pressure you or stress you out, on the contrary, YG is here to inspire you to become responsible citizens and future leaders through a hands-on government experience. In order to make your first year amazing, here is some helpful and special advice to help you.

At District and State, you’re not just debating bills; you are exploring a mini government with hundreds of teens. Conferences bring teens together to debate issues and experience how the government works firsthand. Conference is the perfect place to make friends and socialize with people outside of your delegation. The friendships made during these conferences aren’t just any friendships. Most of the time the people you meet will be at conference the following year, so remembering who your fellow YG members are is important. These connections not only make
debating way more fun, but you can also learn from one another.

Mastering Confidence is very important to present or to debate. You don’t have to be loud to dominate debate or trial. When a new delegate walks into committee or conference with organized notes, it shows quiet preparation and makes you feel more confident because you won’t be stressed about not being prepared. Asking thoughtful questions confidently without hesitation, signals that you are actively paying attention and want to engage and be involved.

Advisors have often been in YG for years, and some even did it as teens in high school before coming back as adults. Asking your advisors questions is basically a cheat code to level up your skills as a rookie. Advisors love helping students avoid making mistakes. Instead of struggling through procedures and proposals alone, a student who asks advisors for help ends up learning faster and much more than you’d imagine. These small confidence moves and guidance from experienced advisors and peers not only help a rookie survive YG, but they also start to find their
place as a YG teen.