The opening celebration for the 2012 RNC was held at Tropicana Field, home to the Tampa Bay Rays.

TAMPA, Florida – RNC: to all those teenagers and young adults who don’t know what the Republican National Convention is, I hope by the end of the week you will.

Now underway in Tampa, Florida, the main objectives of the Republican National Convention are to adopt a platform for the presidential race reflecting the party’s goals and wishes for the next four years and nominating our candidates for president and vice president of the United States. This year, it’s expected that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney will be the party’s pick for president with Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his vice-president running mate.

Although that’s the main business of the convention, it does involve much more.

Alli is seen here flanked by two belly dancers at the opening celebration.

There are many speeches made by senators, governors, and other important political figures. Some speeches, such as those by Romney, Ryan and Romney’s wife Ann Romney are anticipated by those all around the nation, and even the world.

All conventions have something unique in the building. Here at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, there is a national debt clock, which is constantly ticking as our debt piles up. There is also a debt clock that counts how much debt we will gain throughout the week of the convention.

Republicans held the opening party for the convention on Sunday night at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The stadium, home to the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team, was overflowing with energetic and passionate delegates and guests from all around the country.

A small crocodile at the opening party for the convention. Convention parties are an important part of the convention experience, and are known for their outlandishness.

My favorite part was walking into the stadium and seeing all the dancers, flamingos, and a little, itty-bitty baby crocodile! I love animals, so seeing all the animals made it so much fun for me.

At the party, it wasn’t really about politics; it was more about meeting new people with very similar interests, and celebrating our country.
To end the party, Rodney Atkins, an extremely popular American country singer, performed on a stage in the stadium. His music boomed in the stadium and brought everyone together to, once again, celebrate our amazing country.

Unfortunately, all convention events at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Monday were canceled due to tropical storm Isaac, which is turning into a hurricane. The weather isn’t too bad here in Tampa – there’s just off and on rain and lots of wind.

Flamingos were there to greet convention-goers on the opening night.

Even though the convention was cancelled for the day, I still attended a breakfast for the Minnesota delegates – my mom is an alternate – and their guests. We had two guest speakers, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann from Minnesota and Professor Walter E. Block, who teaches at Loyola University in New Orleans. It was very interesting to hear them speak from different points of view.

We were also introduced to some possible rule changes for the presidential election process in the future. One potential change that really got people fired up was changing all state caucuses into primaries. This upset many delegates, because they believe that caucusing gives average citizens a voice in the presidential electoral process.