It's finally over. The madness that is the American election cycle is entering the final stretch now that we've cleared the two main conventions. Unless you've been living under a rock or burying your head in the sand trying to ignore the fallout (PS: I don't blame you...), chances are you have seen a highlight reel. What better way to celebrate than to look back at the mania that has come to define American politics?

Openings

Like all formal meetings, the DNC and RNC are meant to be opened with a gavel banging which usually means whoever is in charge will undoubtedly give a speech as well. Matching the comical tone of this election cycle, neither convention started off exactly right.

In Cleveland, they had a premature start to the first night thanks to none other than late night political commentator Stephen Colbert. Before he started his live coverage of both conventions, he found some time to visit Cleveland in his "Hungry for Power Games" character Julius Flickerman. The segment, which has been running the length of the 2016 elections, is a parody of "The Hunger Games" featuring the multitudes of candidates in place of tributes. Storming the stage, Colbert used the ceremonial gavel to call to order the Games. When confronted by security, he managed to shout out one last zinger before being escorted off stage: "I know I'm not supposed to be up here, but let's be honest - neither is Donald Trump". You can watch the entire segment below. Officially, Chairman Reince Priebus called the convention to order later that night.

In Philadelphia, perhaps after watching Colbert's coverage of the RNC, he was not allowed on stage quite as easily. Instead of political satire kicking off the convention, the Democrats nearly forgot to use the ceremonial gavel at all. Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman-Shultz, being embroiled in the leaked email scandal that confirms long-held accusations of institutional bias against Sanders, did not begin the convention after being booed and heckled through an early morning address to the Florida delegation. Instead, Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake kicked things off and began leaving the stage before running back to use the gavel.

The fun parts ended just there with those two gif-worthy moments. Read ahead at your own peril.

Day 1: Make America Safe Again (7/18) & United Together (7/25)

Key Speakers (R): David Clark, Melania Trump

Key Speakers (D): Astrid Silva, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Michelle Obama

While the Republicans started off their convention by featuring TV stars and subtly attacking Hillary Clinton, the Democrats tried to move away from the smear tactics of this election cycle and emphasized instead the emotional stories of strong Americans. The first prime-time speaker for the RNC was reality TV star Willie Robertson, who appears on the show "Duck Dynasty" where he runs a duck call production business. He was followed by various men serving in the armed forces and the mothers of the Americans killed in the Benghazi incident and actor Scott Baio. David Clark, a police chief from Michigan, made some inflammatory comments on "Blue Lives Matter" - a recent twist on the "Black Lives Matter" movement seeking to expose and end harmful institutional biases against African-Americans, especially in cases of police brutality.

Senator Elizabeth Warren and Corey Booker both delivered rousing speeches, but the first major DNC speaker was a young American citizen sharing her story as the child of undocumented immigrants in a country rapidly turning them into scapegoats for a number of problems. Sanders also gave an endorsement of Clinton and asked his delegated to respect his loss for the nomination. At first glance, the DNC seemed the more divided convention with daily protests by Sanders supporters; looking deeper, these sorts of conflicts were avoided at the RNC because many people against Trump (example: Ohio Governor John Kasich) simply boycotted it.

The keynote speakers for the first evening were Melania Trump, Donald Trump's third wife, and First Lady Michelle Obama, respectively. Mrs. Trump's speech plagiarized one made by Michelle Obama at the DNC in 2008, turning what Trump campaigners hoped would be an inspirational moment into a controversy. While some like NJ Governor Chris Christie insisted that a majority of the speech was original and therefore acceptable, many were outraged that the wife of the Republican nominee chose to plagiarize from the wife of the widely-hated Democratic president. Mrs. Obama, as usual, delivered a heartfelt and inspiring speech about her time in the White House that united the audience in admiration of her oratory masterpiece.

Day 2: Make America Work Again (7/19) & A Lifetime of Fighting for Children and Families (7/26)

Key Speakers (R): Chris Christie, Tiffany Trump, Donald Trump Jr.

Key Speakers (D): Bill Clinton, Mothers of the Movement

Tiffany Trump, who I didn't even know existed before her speech, made a short speech that sounded more like a scripted eulogy for her father than a campaign speech about Trump's ability to address economic issues. Donald Trump Jr. had the charisma and coherency that Tiffany lacked but seemed to miss the family narrative. According to him, Trump was a guy from Queens told he couldn't make in in Manhattan that let his children play with workers. If you didn't know that Trump was the son of a billionaire real-estate tycoon carrying on the family legacy, you might have thought that he was just some blue collar guy who hit it big. Bill Clinton also addressed family history, working in the story of his life with Hillary into his speech. Well intended but still slightly awkward, his distinctive southern drawl championed her long record of political experience.

After the sting of not being nominated for VP despite his obvious jousting for the role, Chris Christie got a consolation prize in the form of an RNC speech. His topic? Hillary Clinton. As someone who is proud to live in the great state of New Jersey, I am not proud to admit that our governor is the kind of man that uses a speech meant to rally people to the Republican platform as a way to incite people to scream "LOCK HER UP!" after legal conclusions have already been reached in the Clinton email scandal. The realization stings all the more when I think of how the DNC also highlighted injustice on their second night - the injustice leaving bloodstains on America's conscious with the disproportionate police brutality against African-Americans. A week after Christie's ranting, listening to the mothers of the people most recently killed while knowing that no one would be held accountable for Freddie Gray's death in police custody broke my heart. At least the FBI addressed the possible security breaches with Clinton's emails; how many people still refuse to acknowledge the statistical fact that we allow de facto discrimination against people of color by police officers?

Day 3: Make America First Again (7/20) & Working Together (7/27)

Key Speakers (R): Ted Cruz, Eric Trump, Mike Pence

Key Speakers (D): Tim Kaine, President Obama, Vice President Biden

We may never know why Ted Cruz, one of the few Republicans still staunchly anti-Trump, was asked to speak at the convention. We may not know, but that does not mean we cannot enjoy the aftermath. He obviously used his time to denounce the nominee to the great displeasure of his Trump-friendly audience. Eric Trump followed with a philippic against the American government and an almost uncomfortable amount of praise of Donald Trump. Ending the Republican night was Mike Pence and his self-admitted boring presence. A speech can really only go downhill once you acknowledge in your opening that you are the uninteresting half of the ticket.

In direct contrast, Obama talked about the recent successes of America (clean energy, improved relations with Cuba, marriage equality, etc.) before beseeching voters not to fall into the fear-mongering and hate of the Republican platform. Tim Kaine surprised everyone with his energy and enthusiasm. Biden brought some nostalgia to the table right before breaking into emotions, talking about the strength of America and Clinton. In a surprising turn of events, the Democrats talked more about the greatness of our country than the party obsessed with "making America first". I wonder if, at this point during the DNC, the Republicans realized that their entire convention came across as an angry rant with Trump as the solution when compared with the uplifting messages of the Democrats.

Day 4: Make America One Again (7/21) & Stronger Together (7/28)

Key Speakers (R): Donald Trump

Key Speakers (D): Hillary Clinton

The most notable fact about Trump's acceptance speech is that it took over an hour, cutting into an episode of hit TV show "Bones". Other than that, it was typical Trump-style speaking. Half truths and lies mixed together with his emotionally charged stumping against his competition. In the entire long-winded speech, I could not discern one new statement. More of his complaints, still struggling to present the bare-bones of policy needed to remind people he is running for an office in between solemn promises of results. Clinton had a fairly long speech as well, clocking in at just under a hour, as she accepted the historic honor of being the first female presidential nominee by a major party. Short on poetics, she presented herself as a determined leader ready to take on the oval office. A solid campaign speech by a solid presidential candidate - nothing more, nothing less.

This is the first election cycle that I can vote in, the first that I have bothered to follow closely. I know I can't speak only for myself when I say that it has been an interesting introduction to American politics. Without any other convention references, I'm having trouble discerning whether America is going crazy or I am. I refuse to label myself Republican after the hateful rhetoric fueling their speeches and I can't label myself a Democrat in good conscience either simply because I do not think they are putting their best candidate forward. All I can say is that I'm glad this roller-coaster ride is almost over.