A few weeks ago, as regions all over the globe were congregating for their fall term regional conventions, my region (Pacific Western Region) was doing the exact same thing! This was my fifth regional convention, and it stirred up a lot of memories because it was exactly two years from my very first convention, which was during my freshman year of high school. This weekend had me reminiscing a lot on how my role in BBYO has changed since I was a freshman.

In PWR, our mascot is the wolf. Therefore, we call our 8th and 9th graders “pups.” When I was a pup, I remember how much I looked up to the older kids in my region. Some of my favorite people are the ones who introduced me to BBYO years ago and guided me through my first year. They may have graduated, but I like to think that I’m working to carry on their legacy within our chapter and my region. This year, as I looked around and saw so many new faces—PWR pups being introduced to this organization for the very first time—I realized just how much conventions have changed for me. They’ve not only changed because now I am in the position of an older teen, just like the people I looked up to so much in my first year of BBYO, but because I got the amazing opportunity to help steer this convention and be a part of the leadership team.

Every year, our fall convention is called “BOTC,” or Battle of the Cabins. It’s a take on color wars, where teens are split up into color teams and compete against each other in a series of rotations throughout the convention. Teams are scored based on their overall spirit and their performance in the day’s activities. At the same time, chapters can compete to win the “chapter spirit gavel,” which is based on their overall spirit throughout the weekend. This year, our theme was galaxy; our amazing coordinators, Chelsea and Oriel, coined the name for the weekend, “PWR under the stars.” However, the theme for the weekend ended up being more like “PWR underwater” because, uncommon for Southern California, it was pouring rain the entire time.

As someone born and raised in Los Angeles, torrential downpours are not a common occurrence, and this definitely resulted in some stress leading up to convention. Looking back, though, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Preparing to have a convention that was meant to be largely outdoors and then needing some serious pivots due to the rain taught me so much about myself, my ability to adapt, and my leadership skills. My program specifically ended up taking place in a much smaller indoor area than the field it was meant to be on, but that just meant that my counterpart, Nadav, and I had to figure out ways to make our program fit the location we were given. I know all of my fellow steerers and everyone else on our leadership team was doing the same thing when it came to their programming. By the end of the weekend, I was struck by just how well all of us worked side by side to make the weekend come together.

Battle of the Cabins 2025, although very stormy, ended up being a great success. I had an amazing time. My umbrella may have broken on day 1, but it ended up being so much fun, and I know that I learned so many things from my experience that I will definitely use for my future. I had the opportunity to be on our leadership team with one of my best friends, which made the experience that much better. Overall, if you have the opportunity to steer a convention or help lead in any way, I would highly recommend it. Fill out that application, brainstorm those programming ideas, and go to your regional conventions!! Trust me, you won’t regret it.