A few weekends ago, I spent a Sunday morning canvassing for Zohran Mamdani, a Democrat running for New York City mayor in the upcoming election. I did not know what to expect; I was looking for a way to participate in something I care about. As I approached the meeting point marked on the “Zohran for NYC” website, I was shocked to see a crowd of over 100 people excited to spend a morning knocking on doors.
I was quickly greeted by a young woman whose enthusiasm woke me up out of my half-asleep, non-caffinated state. After being given an orange notecard, I patiently waited for my friend, who had convinced me to do this in the first place, to arrive with her mother. Around 15 minutes later, the group of people had grown to around 150. We all gathered in a semicircle as a comedian and a local political figure talked to us about Zohran and the importance of the work that was to be done that day. Being there with so many people from my community was truly moving. Seeing so many people gather together with one, if not more things in common, showed me what politics is truly about. Bringing people together with like-goals, and then working together to make a change. We then separated into our respective groups and went around in a circle introducing ourselves, sharing one reason why we showed up today. Many people gave answers like: “I was sick of feeling helpless,” and some more lighthearted: “I want to have fun doing something that I’m interested in!” We were given a brief rundown of what to do in pretty much any situation, including what to do about barbed wire on the premises of a building you are supposed to enter, or even what to do if someone threatens you at the door. We then collected our information to unlock our directories, which are lists of individuals who are registered democrats.
As I approached my first building, I kindly asked the doorman if I could go upstairs and canvass his building. I was politely told that I was not allowed to, which was slightly disheartening. After two more tries, a doorman finally let me into his building, to which I gave a sigh of relief. I had initially thought that my first 3 rejections meant I wouldn’t make my way into any buildings at all. I made my way to the 12th floor and searched for my first listed apartment.
As I rang the doorbell, I felt terrified. I worried about any negative reaction to my presence. After all, I probably wouldn’t be very happy to be woken up by someone wondering my political opinions on a Sunday morning. Very much to my surprise, a kind old woman opened the door. I gave the written script: “Hi, I’m looking for ___. I am Isla, and I am volunteering for NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Have you heard of him?” She happily clapped her hands and told me that she was excited to be voting for him in the upcoming election. This first interaction gave me so much encouragement.
Many people in that building were extremely enthusiastic about Zohran. I even knocked on a few doors of previous canvassers! I occasionally ran into people who were not in support of him, but all were incredibly cordial and politely declined a flyer. I had initially thought that canvassing was some extremely complicated affair, but really, it was simple! All I had to do was knock on a door, ask a simple question, and then move on.
By the end of the shift, I was tired but felt accomplished. I had overcome my initial worries, knocked on over 80 doors, and made what felt like a difference, even though it was small. I realized that the importance of canvassing was not to convince every person to vote for Zohran, but instead to show up. For many people, that could be their only direct interaction with his campaign.
As a teenager, I often feel like there is not much I can do about politics. Although I am too young to vote, I know I can still make a difference. Knocking on doors in your community may seem small, but it can truly make a change. It is a small piece of a big puzzle that helps campaigns grow. My key takeaway from this experience is that politics is not only big rallies, speeches or something on the news; it’s conversations on someone’s doorstep, a pin on your shirt and maybe even asking your friend to go canvassing with you!
