The morning was cloudy and cold, but I was feeling the Bern. When we arrived at the rally, we could see that the line was stretching all the way down the street, but, fortunately, the Young Progressives Club had a spot in line saved for us. We had sophomore Clay Rodgers to thank for that.

But, braving the line was only the first step for those who wanted to see the great Bernie Sanders; once we got through security, we were led across a bridge to a field with a big stage. Once in front of the stage, surrounding it in a massive clump, we Berniebros were told that Bernie wouldn’t be on yet . . . Nor would he speak for the next three hours! We had to get comfortable.

Next to our group was a man (who’d obviously been told about the wait in advance) already curled up in a royal blue sleeping bag. Handling crowd control, only a few feet away from us, was an exuberant woman in a red vest adorned with Bernie pins. Every once in awhile, she’d shout something encouraging to the crowd, raising morale and keeping the mood light. Blaring through the speakers were jaunty rock tunes: some pop music, and some nearly as old as Bernie himself!

Finally, after hours of waiting, a wizened old man approached the vacant podium. And, as world-renowned entertainer Dick van Dyke took the microphone, a roar of enthusiasm rippled through the crowd. He talked about how enthusiastic he was about Sanders’ campaign, and he brought the energy of the crowd up to an eleven. Van Dyke was fantastic, but it was finally time for the main event.

Bernie Sanders stepped up to face his adoring fans, and a lull went over the crowd. We watched in silent awe as the senator ranted and raved about everything from women’s rights to drug laws, lead poisoning and Donald Trump.

Hundreds of people stood, bursting with almost juvenile energy, as Sanders unveiled his plans for the country. He said that he “want[ed] to see young people engaged, in good jobs, in good schools, not rotting in jail cells!”

And, as young people ourselves , we at the Fourth Estate have to agree. Three staff members attended the event: Aura Carlson, Rose Houglet, and I, Jack Stein. It was a morning to mid-afternoon that I don’t think any of us will forget, as the loud-mouthed, aging, crazy-haired senator got up before hundreds of people and spouted off a political revolution.

The old man spoke for nearly an hour, and kept things pumped with political energy, yet he remained civil. He didn’t go for the obvious target (Hillary) or the easy target (Trump, at least not TOO much), and instead let his ideals speak for themselves.

He stepped up to a microphone in front of hundreds of bored, tired, slightly-annoyed Santa Barbarians, and he turned them into a bunch of kids outside of a candy shop window. We were in awe of what lay before us!

Now, I know that Bernie isn’t the most promising candidate. Hillary is destroying him in the primaries so far, and, despite his recent momentum, his chances remain slim. But it’s not about the man, not entirely: it’s about the ideas. Sure, they aren’t perfect, but they’re a whole lot better than a lot of the other ones floating around out there.

Sanders’ plans of free college, equal pay regardless of gender, and universal free healthcare may seem like fantasies to some, or maybe unreachable, but it’s impossible to know until we try. And that’s all Bernie Sanders wants to do. He wants to try. And that’s the first step on the long road to a brighter tomorrow for this country, and all of the people who live here.