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On a rainy day in November the Indiana General Assembly was buzzing with activity. It was Organization Day and when I entered the basement level of the General Assembly and immediately I saw legislative assistants, interns, and legislators rushing around me. Ironically the inside of the basement level looks nothing like a grand government building, more like a dilapidated and run-down office building. The monotone yellow walls and pot-marked floors showed the wear and tear of a functioning democracy. I was totally lost and was hesitant to ask for help from any one of these hurried individuals. Fortunately a thirty-something staffer saw that I was lost and slowed his pace long enough to point me in the direction of the proper staircase. I entered the main level, immediately impressed with the architectural beauty of the building, and asked for directions again. Eventually I made my way to the Senate chamber’s balcony on the 4th floor. Although I had been told that the session did not start until 1:00 PM, I was lucky enough to enter the balcony as a tour for out-of-town constituents were being shown the Senate chamber. I listened as the “tour guide” explained some things about the room itself, the Indiana state flag, and the General Assembly in general. She pointed out that the Indiana State Senate was comprised of 50 Senators and explained a bit about the buttons on the desk that cast a vote, that in turn shows up on an electronic screen. The woman guiding the tour also mentioned that all proceeding can be watched via a webcam accessible by the Indiana Government website: www.in.gov. She explained that freshman Senators and those with less seniority had to sit at the back of the room and those more senior Senators get to sit closer to the front of the room. I also found it interesting to know that each State Senator represents about one hundred and twenty-five thousand people. One feature that I noticed about the Senate chamber was that it actually seemed kind of small. There were three levels of windows on three of the walls that peered into offices, giving the residents of those offices a great view of the Senate floor. The tour guide noted that the room had been recently remodeled and that the walls had been brought in to make room for those offices. She also explained the meaning behind the Indiana State flag. There are 19 stars on the flag representing the 18 states that came before us and the 19th, and biggest star, represents the State of Indiana. She explained further that the beams or lines coming from the main star and torch represented the influence that we cast on the other states around us. I had never heard an explanation like this regarding the meaning of the flag and found it to be very interesting. Overall, I really enjoyed my time at the Indiana General Assembly. I was surprised to find that the people were so helpful in directing me where to go. Everyone seemed to be moving with a purpose on this day and I could not imagine a more appropriate setting to be the hive of our democracy. Someday I hope to work in the Indiana General Assmebly, whether it is as a legislative assistant or legislator.