“Drew, look that’s the line!” I said as I pointed to what I thought was the line to get into the infamous Trump Rally on March 11. We hurriedly parked in the Scottrade parking lot at approximately 7:58 according to the ticket. Then, we practically ran towards Peabody to catch our spot in line.

Little did my brother and I know, it was the media line. As we walked past the eight or so protestors with their “Trump is a Nazi” signs, we soon set our eyes on the Trump flag that marked the spot of the actual line….which happened to wrap around the whole block almost to City Hall. If you’re not familiar with the area, approximately 2,000 people had already lined up to see the man, the myth and the legend: Donald J. Trump.

We soon found our place in line and checked the time: 8:10. We could do this. The doors would open at 9 a.m. and Trump would speak at noon. A guy with a video camera shoved it in my face and hurriedly asked, “HEY! YOU! What are your personal thoughts on Trump?” I was astounded that he would invade my personal space and brushed him off with the “I’m really just here for the experience, sir.”

It wasn’t until 10 a.m. that the line started to go anywhere… and by anywhere I mean two feet at a time. Closer to the doors and out of sight at the time, Trump attendees would be frisked two at a time to get into the rally. With all of the slack Trump has been getting lately, adequate security was the safest option.

We passed by an array of tables lined with scarves, hats and buttons, of which I bought three for the heck of it. Then, my brother bought a “Make America Great Again” hat and wore it with pride. The frat boys in front of us bonded with Drew over this, and I just observed the crowd. I looked over and saw a man talking into a microphone. We found out this was conservative vlog maker Ronnie Jenkins. My brother had a talk with the mutton-chop wearing man, and proceeded to follow him on Youtube.

By the time we made it to the front of the line around 10:30 a.m. more protestors had gathered to about 25 people. They were yelling and Trump supporters were yelling back. I stayed quiet and snuck a few pictures of each poster. My favorite was “Don’t Comb over here.”

By the time we got inside, I was nervous as all get out. Who was this man and what would he have to say? I stepped into the building and was greeted by a metal detector and a police officer. “Are you nervous or something?” he asked. I simply shook my head and said how I had never been to anything like this before.

We soon found our seats next to my good friend, Maddi George’s mom. We were lucky enough to get on the bottom level and sat with our five posters each. I wanted to take a few home for my Trump-supporting parents and also for the memories. What if this was would become President? A rally like this would forever be etched into my brain.

At 1 p.m. Trump finally came out to speak, preceded by a line of speakers that helped pump up the crowd. As soon as he stepped on stage, thousands of Trump fans hooted and hollered for the man. I tried to remain as calm as possible but I wanted to hoot and holler too, just for the fun of it.

It seemed like about every other five minutes was spent watching protestors stand up and refuse to leave in joined arms. We happened to be seated in the hot seats, because all of the protestors seemed to be in our corner. Drew and I got font seats to the protestor/police bash that became so popular on social media afterwards. He will tell you a punch or two was thrown, but I only saw an uproar of resistance with leaving. The officers had to use force to get the out, as Trump had asked.

At the end, Trump came down to sign hats and signs for his constituents. Drew and I were within five feet of him, but we weren’t able to reach him for a signature. “Close but no cigar.”

Overall, the experience was something too interesting to fully describe. It was interesting to see the man so many people talk about in person. I also liked to listen to what he had to say and get his views directly from him. I may not agree with everything the media associates him with, but from what he said to the supporters, I did not find anything wrong with him.

I know this man is associated with being racist, hateful and a dictator. However, I have yet to make a decision on if that is who he is, or what the media wants you to think he is. All I know is what I saw in person. This man claims to be for the people and wants to rebuild America instead of wasting time with war. He wants to spend the money elsewhere, whether it be the wall, streets or the military. But what I liked best was the notion that he offered to spend his money to rebuild. What does that tell you?  To me, it said that he was willing to put everything on the line for this country. Sure, he may not be politically correct all of the time. But overall, the rally allowed me to make a decision for myself on who this man is. And to all of the people who hate his guts, you should have been there.