There was a lot of hype leading up to August 28, Selma’s election day. At the Times-Journal we have been covering the election since before candidates even started to qualify in July. It seemed like person after person in the community warned me about the madness that would ensue on this day. Even one person told me they were praying for me to get through elections.

Even my editor said that the day would be so long and exhausting, that I could wear jeans. Our normal 12 a.m. deadline at the paper was pushed to 2 a.m.

I will never forget covering my first election and all of the things I learned on this day that was hyped up so much.

About several weeks ago I was talking to my parents on the phone.

“So do you know who you are going to vote for in this election?” my dad asked. “Do you feel like you know enough about the town yet to make a decision?”

It took everything I had to not scream “yes!”

My whole job for the last several months was to cover and track this election. When my parents called and asked me that question, I had just left the courthouse after thumbing through, and making a copy of, every candidate’s financial campaign report.

At the paper we collected questionnaires from every candidate to aid in our endorsement process, a process that I am so proud and honored I was asked to be a part of. I had the luxury of interviewing and reading about each candidate so that I could give my input on the editorial board.

I was expecting Aug. 28 to be nutty, busy and totally overwhelming, but what I didn’t know is that some parts would be a little depressing.

Following the results flooding in all at once, the staff had to contact those that won and lost for interviews. I think I was the first to tell several candidates that they lost. That was really tough. Though I have invested lots of time into covering the election, these candidates have put their lives on hold for it.

The candidates poured their money into their campaigns and they poured in their time — all because they cared about Selma and wanted to make a difference.

By the reactions of candidates that lost, I could tell that they really cared. It was awkward trying to break the bad news.

Overall, it was a fun night to be a journalist and hold the answers to questions the community wanted to know. But luckily for me — a crazy night like that only comes around once every four years.