Sessão Concelhia Matosinhos. How was it to be in one more EYP session?
EYP day! It’s truly a day full of worries and anxiety and it starts from the moment you wake up until the so expected and stressing yet amusing Euroconcert. The angst is pretty overwhelming at times, especially when you’re suffering from anticipation. When you wake up, the world seems to crash down on you. Later, you realize that throughout the morning you acted just like this:
Oh, no! It´s here! It´s here, and I’ve got so much stuff to do! Well, at least I’ve already printed my attacks to the other motions and the defense of our own… wait… Oh, no, I haven’t yet! Yes, Mom, I know its 7 am and I also know the printer’s noisy but I really need to do this right now!
Or maybe like this:
Good, everything’s sorted out. I can take a nice, long and relaxing shower… What?! Do we really need to be there THAT early?! Sigh, looks like I’ll need to master the ancient technique of the 2 minutes shower! Nice!
As always everything works out, the rage attacks disappear and you get that weird feeling when you see everyone, looking very sharp and surprisingly professional. Delegates from other committees are wandering, walking around non-stop, trying to memorize their speeches and perhaps shake away their tension. Everyone’s concentrated and appearing as if they were better prepared than ever, except you. You’re tremendously nervous, your legs are shaking, your heart is beating faster than usual and those sweaty palms aren’t due to the teambuilding, nor is the stomachache related to what you’ve had for lunch. It’s all happening because you’re as scared as a little girl watching a horror movie.
Then you hear The Words (yes, with capital letters, as if you’re referring to a higher power, that has an unnatural effect on you, unlike the most common combination of words): “The session is now officially open”.
Suddenly, a strange calm takes over your body. It’s not as if you’ve relaxed and thought well, it isn’t that much of a deal!. No. You simply realize that you can’t let the nerves get their way, you’ve worked hard, prepared yourself for everything and you and your irrational fears are the only things that can get in your way. When you have the microphone in your hands and pronounce the initial words of your first intervention, you start to feel more comfortable and eventually confident. The other committees’ eyes are all on you and it feels as if a cloud of arrows is falling down on you. But all of that goes away because it’s your time. It’s the moment you get to express your opinions, to show them how the search for justice is your driving force that leads you to defend or attack passionately.
The truth is that most of you know what EYP stands for: European Youth Parliament; but only those who’ve participated truly know what it means. It’s all nerve-racking but it is worth all the effort and anxiety just to have an opportunity to experience such feeling of happiness, union, pride and accomplishment that you’re left with at the end of the day, no matter what the result is, just for the sake of participating in such a great occasion. And what a great occasion it is! We may not know each other very well, but we act sillier than most people usually get to see, which can bring us closer. Also, there’s an atmosphere of acceptance, of hospitality and mutual respect. Indeed, EYP is a unique experience and better than participating once it’s to participate twice! We couldn’t have been happier for being chosen to a EYP session once more and we were looking forward to kick that PED (if there are any Points of Information over there, it stands for Post-EYP Depression) away!
Well, and if you ask us: what’s the worst part? The fact that it only lasts one day and doesn’t happen that often!
