I spent my Christmas and New Year’s nervous.

It wasn’t the holidays or the prospect of a coming year — it was my fast-approaching new job. I had sought out an opportunity to engage with my state government, and it seemed like I had found one. House page, a week in the capital, 50 dollars a day, and it was coming up a lot sooner than I had anticipated.

When I finally found myself sitting in Page School, worried I wasn’t cut out for the job, I began to realize how little I knew.

I had a certain level of confidence that I was your average “informed citizen” and that I had a pretty good grasp on what went into making government, and by extension democracy, run smoothly.

After my nerves had cooled and I was more able to objectively see paging for what it was, it was only then that I understood the magnitude of this opportunity.

Paging wasn’t just about getting to meet your reps and seeing how the government works — it was about understanding the importance of participation in a depth that I had never considered before.

I wasn’t just a passive observer.

I became an eager participant, running papers from office to office, and delivering letters directly to reps. I was now part of the process. While my job could, in essence, be boiled down to being an “aide to the aides,” I was still an important cog in an even more important machine.

Suddenly being a responsible citizen meant more than knowing about what laws were passed last week — “responsible” came to mean “participation.”

Sure, maybe I, more than most, went out of my way to get into the guts of the government. That didn’t mean that working in the Capital was my only road to participation. Participation can also mean attending committee hearings, voting and protesting, seeing those who represent you — essentially finding any way to directly interface with the system that decides almost every aspect of your life.

But what had started as a semi-serious gamble to become a house page, became an essential lesson in my role as a citizen of a state.

Government only functions when responsible citizens make that gamble.

No matter the initial feeling of nervousness or an overwhelming sense that your voice, among millions, won’t make a difference, seek opportunities to make that voice heard.

If you engage at almost any level of government, you will see results. Maybe not instantly, and maybe not in the same form you thought they would.

But change is measured in the passion individuals are willing to commit to it. And now, more than ever, we need that passion.

Lander Fontaine, a 16-year-old homeschooled student from Vashon, served as a page during the second week of the legislative session in the Washington state House of Representatives, sponsored by State Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D-Burien). Lander is the child of Matt Fontaine and Tamara Paris, of Vashon. In his free time, Lander enjoys politics, current events, film, scouting, hiking, and gaming.

Legislative pages assume a wide variety of responsibilities, from presenting the flags to distributing amendments on the house floor. They support the efficient operation of the Legislature while also receiving daily civics instruction, drafting their own bills, and participating in mock committee hearings. For more information on the page program and available scholarships, visit tinyurl.com/yc5a54nf.