The best part of being in DC so far has definitely been the city itself.  Having lived in New Jersey my entire life, I know that much of its charm can be lost on those who may not be looking for it.  And really, there aren’t many people who are looking for the charm in Jersey.  While there is no place like home, the charm of this city goes beyond anything you’ll ever read in a brochure or see on TV—the magic of this city is something you can only ever understand by being here.

Within the first weekend of being here, I had visited the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights, gone to the Library of Congress to be completely overwhelmed by Thomas Jefferson’s collection of books, and seen the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, Capital Building, Supreme Court, and the White House.  I felt like I was trying to squeeze everything in to the very first weekend – as if I would somehow miss out if I did not see every important building in Washington within my first 48 hours of free time.

But now, two weeks later—even after knocking what are arguably the greatest tourist spots off of my list, I still feel like I will never have enough time in my remaining eight weeks to see everything I want to see and do everything I want to do.   There is just so much here.  It’s like you fall in love with one place—for me it was the Library of Congress—and you just want to keep going back there.  You think that this one place is your favorite of them all.  But somehow, while you may hold on to a few favorite spots, each building, each event, and each place you go to becomes more and more exciting.  It’s never ending.  Washington D.C. will never cease to amaze you.

Interning has also been an eye-opening experience.  On my very first day of work, I was introduced to the four other interns from the office that I would be working with throughout the summer.  I, unbeknownst to me when I arrived, was the only undergraduate intern working in the office.   The other interns were either 2^nd or 3^rd year law students, or had already graduated from law school.  Intimidating?  I would be lying if I said it wasn’t.  But I think of it as a challenge, and each day I go to work I remind myself of why I am here—to learn.  I know I am capable, and I know that I will put in the extra time and effort to be successful throughout my internship—so my purpose is really to just take as much of it in as I can.  After two weeks of working, I feel like I’ve already been able to prove myself as reliable and competent—I am seeing more responsibility and have been able to make valuable contributions to group projects and office meetings.  So in just two weeks, I already feel like I am learning more about law and policy, and really more about myself and what I am capable of as a student, intern, and researcher.

All in all, I have found a city that I love, and I’m learning to take it all in.  A summer in the heart of our nation could not be more exciting – looking forward to the eight weeks ahead!

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