SITTING IN A CLASSROOM....TAKING A STAND

My first full working week in Washington DC is done, AND.... SCENCE.  

I've discovered that the first week of an internship can be ridiculously overwhelming, confusing, tiring, educational and most of all rewarding.  After feeling unsure of what my responsibilities were actually going to be after my first day on the job, I quickly forced myself to keep an open mind and an open heart, and just let the cards fall where they may. It paid off.

I decided that whatever they throw at me I'm going to do it better and more uniquely than the person before me.  Time will tell if I actually accomplish this lofty goal.  It's common for me to build up standards and place expectations on myself that are nearly impossible to reach, BUT that's the way I am, and obviously, it's one of the reasons why I'm sitting in a Dupont Circle Starbucks, surrounded by A SEA OF POLITICOS in our nation's Capital.

I'm not gonna lie.  Getting on the metro and going to work every morning, seamlessly intermingling myself with the suit-wearing, high heel strutting, newspaper touting community that is Washington DC's professional public- is thrilling on a number of levels.  It might seem to be a youthful or glamorized take on hauling myself 45 minutes to work every morning (sans my usual cup of coffee) in a crowed train; but it's not that simple.  The difference between being a college student and an intern is ACTION.  At school I'm sitting in a  desk for 2 hours and LEARNING about Nonprofit organizations and women's studies.  As an intern in Washington DC, I'm actually PARTICIPATING in legislation, drafting policy, and literally standing up for the rights of women and girls.  The classroom seems like such a distant memory; all I see now is the glossy shine of the marble outside my building, the blinking lights of the metro, the national landmarks and historical memories around every corner and the American melting pot of opportunities that are just within my grasp.

P.S. I'm really tired =)