Yea, unfortunately, some of the things you mentioned really won't have any impact. It is nice to have letters of recommendation, but they will only pull so much weight. Probably not as much as you would hope.
The whole friend of you mom who knows senators, will do absolutely nothing for you. Your senators are PROFESSIONALS. They know the rules. They know what they are nominating for. Each senator can only give out 10 nominations. Whether or not you get one of those 10 nominations, will depend 100% on your application, AND the other applying for a nomination that you are competing against. You don't say WHERE you live, but some states and congressional districts could literally have hundreds of applicants. So, when you apply for a nomination from your US Representative for your district, and your 2 US Senators, remember, they each can only give 10 nominations. Unless you're in the Top-10 of all the applicants for each of those nomination slates, it might be difficult getting that nomination.
This is not meant to discourage you. On the contrary. It's designed to give you facts to work with, so you can do your best and hopefully receive one of those nominations. And remember too, there are 435 representatives and 100 senators. So at most, there will be 5350 nominations. Of those, probably around 4,000-4500 individual nominees. (Many will receive more than one nomination). And of those, approximately 1,000 will receive an appointment. There will be approximately 150 other appointments using presidential and other military related nominations. So even getting a nomination doesn't guarantee an appointment. EVERY appointee MUST have a NOMINATION..... But NOT every NOMINEE will receive an APPOINTMENT.
The key is, you need to be in the top. You need to work harder academically. You need to work hard in all of your extra curricular activities. You need to work harder in everything you do. Again, don't walk away from this or any other post feeling discouraged or defeated. It's intended to motivate you to do better. If you click on the link in my signature block, you can look at the air force academy brochure; if you haven't already seen it. You will see that the AVERAGE incoming appointee, has a 3.86 GPA. They are taking the most difficult classes. They are scoring an average of 30 on the ACT. They are in JrROTC, Cap, Scouts, 86% are varsity athletes with letters. The point is to learn from all of this. To learn from this forum. Most people who apply that are active on this forum, have a much better chance. Why, because they gain knowledge. Most of the applicants won't get this knowledge. In the beginning, there will be about 12,000 applying. That will drop down to about 6,000 - 7,000 who are qualified. About 4,500 will have nominations. While most of the 4,500 will be "Qualified", only about 2,500 will be truly "Competitive". And of those 2,500 who are competitive, about 1,200 will receive an appointment.
For what it's worth, I have had a long standing FIGHT with my aunt over this topic. A few years ago, my cousin (Active duty army) died while on active duty. (Drowned in a boating accident while on vacation). Anyway, she is convinced, based on something someone told her, that her grandchild, my cousin's child, will automatically be allowed to go to West Point because their father died while on active duty. Tried to explain to her that the most that the child can be offered, is a "Nomination". Just like military kids who's parents retired from active duty can receive a presidential nomination. Of course she says I'm wrong. Hey, what do I know. But there's 10 more years before the child graduates high school anyway. Point is, I didn't bring this up for any type of sympathy. I bring it up because she doesn't know the rules or how things work. That's where you, as a reader and member of this forum, will have the advantage. You can learn in the next year everything you need to about being the kind of applicant the academies are looking for. You can learn about nominations. You can learn about what senator, representative, and ALO interviews are like.
Take these posts constructively. Do get discouraged or frustrated. If you truly do want to go to the academy, definitely pursue your ambitions. Learn what you need to improve your chances. Whatever you do academically, DO MORE. Whatever you do in sports, DO MORE. Same with leadership, volunteering, clubs, work, etc. DO MORE!!! Best of luck to you.