Twelve years ago next month, I headed to Charlotte, North Carolina, to speak at my first-ever Democratic National Convention.

While I was waiting for my rehearsal, I tried to remember the first time I’d watched a national convention on TV.

I must have been about seven, sprawled on the floor with my dolls, on a tweedy rug in front of a black-and-white television. All three channels carried whichever national convention was taking place just then. To be honest, I was probably hoping I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke would come back on soon.

In 2012, as I looked around the giant arena, I thought about how the woman standing there would have seemed as far away as the moon to that little girl in front of the television set.

The next night, my heart was hammering as I stepped into the blinding lights. People started applauding. It looked like a zillion people, on their feet and starting to yell. That made me even more nervous.

But after a few seconds, something shifted. I stopped thinking of all the delegates and all the others in the arena as just an anonymous crowd. I could see faces. I could see people wave. I felt a sudden urge to line up everyone in the audience so I could spend a minute with each person, shake hands or hug or touch an arm, and say, “I know how important this fight is. We’ll fight together and we’ll win.”

And then I took a deep breath and started.

This Thursday night, I’ll take the stage at another DNC.

I’ll talk about why we need to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz as our next president and vice president.

I’ll talk about our fight to make Washington work not just for the rich and powerful but for everyone.

And even though I won’t get to pull aside every attendee in the arena and all the viewers watching at home, I’ll remember that this speech isn’t about me — it’s about each individual person who’s a part of our team.

It’s about the policies we’re fighting for — and the people who those policies benefit. It’s about the working parents putting dinner on the table, the little girls watching at home sprawled on the floor with their dolls, the teachers reviewing their lesson plans who deserve a raise, the nurses checking their student loan balances, and everyone who needs to know that our government is on their side.

I’m running for re-election this year so I can fight alongside Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to make real change and continue passing the plans that this team has been fighting for since 2012 and even earlier, like taking on big banks, reining in greedy corporations, bringing down costs for families, and rooting corruption out of Washington.

I’m also working to keep MAGA extremists out of power — because they are a threat to our democracy and our freedoms — while tackling the rotten system they’ve grown out of: a system that rewards the wealthy and fans the flames of hate.

If it makes sense for you right now, will you pitch in a donation of $28 or any amount to say you’re in this fight, too, and help make our campaign as strong as possible heading into the general election?