Putting my money where my mouth is...

It's easy to put a bumper sticker on your car.

It's easy to put a sign in your front yard.

It's easy to say, we should all vote for X, Y and Z.

But what it's not easy to do is put your money where your mouth is. And that's what I did today.

Since August I've been telling myself I need to volunteer for Hillary's presidential campaign. I need to. She needs me too. But there were excuses. I'm busy. I'm on deadline with this script. The campaign office is all the way down by the airport. I'm tired at night and don't want to go over there. But this morning...I had run out of excuses.

And I want to help. I want to be a part of the change. Part of the solution. Part of history.

I want Hillary to be the first female President of the United States.

So I drove almost to the airport. And I found the campaign office. And I walked in and looked around and tried not to be scared.

There were just a handful of people in the large conference room. But it was also filled with posters and signs and balloons and food. It was quiet but it wasn't scary. I was immediately greeted by a Hillary for America fellow (one of the lead volunteers). She gave me the lowdown on what needed to be done today and I asked if there were any jobs other than phone banking, or making phone calls. She said not really, though if I really didn't want to phone bank she'd figure something out.

But, as I know how hard it is to organize volunteer activities and sometimes you just need someone to do a job that's not glamorous or maybe a bit difficult, I bit the bullet and said, no problem, I'll make calls.

And I did. Almost a hundred calls in about two and a half hours. I was given call sheets, and a script, and...that was it. I was on my own. I found a quiet spot against the wall, pulled out my phone, learned how to dial *67 before the number so the caller ID would say unknown when I called, and off I went.

I was tasked with calling people who'd expressed interest in a bus trip to Nevada to canvass and register volunteers. So I wasn't exactly making cold calls. I'd say at least fifty percent of my people didn't pick up. A few hung up as soon as I said I was a volunteer calling from Hillary for California. One woman explained to me how us volunteers could do a better job. Some people asked for signs. And six people agreed to go on the bus trip!

One of the Hillary fellows encouraged me several times, saying I was really good at making the phone calls. Everyone in the office was very upbeat, young, and smiley. When I promised to come back Friday they asked if I wanted to pencil myself onto the wall calendar via sticky note. (I said I'd wait and check my schedule and pencil myself in for next week on Friday.)

But most of all?

I feel like I made a difference. I didn't just listen to or read the news today and bitch about the other party and politics. I didn't just favorite funny or biting or informative tweets on Twitter. I didn't just lament the world today while sitting in my house, removed from the world.

I got out and I tried to make a difference. I tried to enact change. I felt connected. I felt useful. I felt proud.

And I can't wait to go back on Friday...