Initiative. A lesson we will all be better off learning now rather than later is that if you want something done, then you must get up and do it. This remains true for those in the media field: you must go out and find the story, the story won’t go seeking you.

This past week, on November 7, the citizens of Adel had the opportunity to voice their opinion on who should be the next leader of Adel. The choices the people were given were Carter Nordman and James “Jim” Peters.

Coming from a politically involved and opinionated family, I have always kept my eye on the news and current events circulating around me to keep up-to-date. What better way to watch this exciting local election than to become a part of it? I volunteered my time to report on the story and made a few phone calls.

With the help of my adviser, soon enough I was on the phone with the Dallas County Auditor’s office. I spoke with a kind lady named Julia who allowed me to ask questions about how the voting system works on a local level, how are the results announced and how are they transferred to the election office. I got to the point of the phone call and asked if I may accompany those in the election office after the polls have closed to experience the process and hear the results first. I was granted a spot on the list of people attending for space management purposes and a time to come with my identification and preferred form of electronic device.

Now all there was left to do was wait for election night.

Election Day:

7:40 p.m.- I put the key into the ignition and begin backing out of my driveway to begin my 3-minute car ride to the election office.

7:44 p.m.- My Honda Accord is parked in the nearest spot to the building to avoid the harsh cold wind as much as possible.

7:45 p.m.- I search for my driver’s license to provide identification and prove my legitimacy to the County Auditor.

7:47 p.m.- My identity is verified and a worker at the front desk is educating me on how to work the poll spreadsheet and suggested I refresh the page every few minutes.

7:48 p.m.- A lady who works for DeSoto City Hall struck up a conversation with me about my purpose at the election office and the usual college/future questions.

7:55 p.m.- The door opened, triggering the bell. A man walks in to check the poll spreadsheet and wait around for results. The lady immediately recognizes the man and strikes up a conversation with him.

7:56 p.m.- Refresh, refresh, refresh, refresh. Anticipation kicks in.

7:59 p.m.- Predictions are thrown about on when the results from the Adel poll will be brought in. Polls were scheduled to close at 8 p.m. My prediction was 8:15 p.m.

8:00 p.m.- Refresh, refresh, refresh.

8:05 p.m.- Impatience kicks in. Another 50 refreshes occur.

8:10 p.m.- After 100 more refreshes and sighs, I resort to passing time by writing down time logs and events from the experience into my ‘Notes’ app.

8:15 p.m.- Turn to Twitter for entertainment and as a cure for my anxiety spiking from the words ‘Zero Results’ remaining after every refresh.

8:17 p.m.- The man has had enough of standing around and leaves to head home.

8:18 p.m.- “Good God”, says the woman from DeSoto City Hall after still no results appear on the screen for the probably 200th time.

8:23 p.m.- DeSoto city election results appear on the spreadsheet with the announcement of the uncontested incumbent mayor along with the new city council members.

8:24 p.m.- DeSoto City Hall woman has out a pen and paper and is recording the results to remember the event. She leaves the building after jotting down the last name.

8:30 p.m.- Julia, the woman I contacted earlier in the week about the event, had in hand the Adel city election results. “Hey Racquel, come on back here so you can view how this works and get the results. You’ll get them up before we are up on the web, how about that? Isn’t that exclusive?”

8:31 p.m.- I followed her back into a room with several set up tables with people behind them, copying what the envelope says into the computer. A lady with brown, curly hair read off the names and the number of ballots associated with the name as I typed them into the ‘Create Tweet’ writing portion of the Black and Redgister Twitter page.

8:35 p.m.- After double-checking the spelling of candidate’s names and the number of ballots, I pressed ‘Tweet’ and expressed my gratitude for the media access I was allowed in this year’s city election.

The experience of what it was like to be a political reporter was not like I initially envisioned at all, but I learned a thing or two about being in the shoes of the media.

Go out and find the story. Don’t hesitate to get involved or make a spot for yourself in the event. Fact check everything and only provide your viewers with the truth. Find patience within yourself and observe everything- embrace the experience.