It wasn’t a Civics class and I was not really taking sub notes for my report.  I was listening to four students debate the 2016 election and taking notes on their talking points.  And no, I won’t share.  At least, not yet.
Suddenly, I heard my name.
“Who you gonna’ vote for, Ms. McCarthy?”  (Neither was it an English class).
My theater training kicked in and I looked up, confused.
“I’m sorry.  What are you talking about?”
“In November. Are you voting Clinton, Trump or other?”
“Oh.  I’m supposed to remain neutral in the classroom.” I went back to my notes.
“Yeah.  You’ve said that before - so who are you voting for?”
“Why are you asking?  What difference does it make to you?”
“I’m asking everyone.  I can’t vote yet and I wish I could.  I want to know how other people are thinking so I can sort it out and use some of it when I do vote.  It makes a difference.”
Well, for cryin’ in the bucket! It’s a H.O.T.S. kid, I thought and thanked my lucky stars.  They are so rare, these days.
I looked down at my notes.  Sure enough, this was the kid with the most thoughtful, calm responses to a heated debate.  By now, most of the class was listening, a couple of them even removed their ear buds.  (They’re seniors and Friday is their last day of classes, before graduation.  I was there merely to supervise.  Some of them I knew from middle school, but unless I ran into them in the real world, this was the last time I would see them in a classroom setting.)  I looked back at the questioning student.
“I will vote my conscience.  That means I will vote for the person who most represents my values.  My Dad used to tell me to vote for the person I would want to be the head of my family.”
“Is that person running?”
“Yes.  That person is running.”
The other students returned to their discussion, trying to determine which of the two major candidates most likely represented my values.
But the student who asked the original question continued to watch me for a full minute.  Then he grinned.
“Good answer, Ms. M.  Good answer.”
Holy cow!  He got it! One little starfish back into the sea.  Intrinsic rewards. I floated home that afternoon, euphoric.
It was the end of May, 2016 and the two major parties had not yet held their conventions.  Eventually, much to my surprise, my candidate was not the nominee.