Darby’s Opening Speech: Initiating our Emotions into the Commonwealth

Emily Bechtel

This unprecedented time has called for action in ourselves and in our community; moreover, this can be heard from our KYA Governor’s speech today during the general assembly.

Our Governor gave a speech that captivated the attention of many delegates. Like she said, this has been the strangest KYA by far and states that hopefully it is the last strangest KYA. Most delegates couldn’t agree more. Many of us also probably agreed with her statement that we wish to never hear or see about Covid ever again, and many of us could relate to her feelings of depression and anger during this time. However, Darby makes a point that we can now use those intense feelings to think more about the issues around us and initiate changes in our community. This change and new comprehension is what helps us in our bill speeches and conversations at KYA.

Furthermore, Darby addresses that we shouldn’t give in and be quiet when the world is falling apart. She supports this with the fact that we wouldn’t want people to stop talking about systemic racism, the environment and our fellow neighbors dying due to coal mining, and the lack of clean water. We would want to voice our opinions on those subjects because they affect ourselves, our friends, and our neighbors. Through this part of her speech, she calls on KYA delegates to speak for those who can’t rather than focusing on the world that is falling apart around us.

Overall, Governor Darby calls on the delegates of this conference to shift their feelings of anger and sadness toward the world into a sense of hope that will drive change and the betterment of our state, our city, our school, and one’s self. She stated, “It is time to fight.”