Counting down to the Fourth!
July 6, 2010
I wrote this post last week, but of course, I am only posting it now. Will update on this weekend soon!!
Sorry for not updating in a while! I did not have much to report last weekend, as I was home for a family graduation party. As much as I loved being home spending time with my family though, I have to say that I missed life in DC while I was gone.
This week was mostly filled with making plans for the upcoming Fourth of July weekend. The 4th of July just happens to be not only my favorite holiday, but also my favorite day of the entire year—so I am extra excited to be spending it in DC! At work everyone has been talking about the three or four day weekend they have managed to plan, and our office is discussing which building around us we can go to to enjoy the fireworks from on Sunday (our own building apparently has another building behind it that would block the show).
Though discussing weekend plans around the office has been fun, work and deadlines have definitely been keeping me busy. In all the jobs I have ever had through high school and college, I have generally gotten used to working a standard eight-or-so hour shift and then going home. Since beginning my internship, I have come to understand that my job requires time spent outside of the office to manage the work that I am required to complete. I have been spending time each night working on research for work – which, though tedious, has actually turned out to be really rewarding.
I am required to have two concept research papers done by Thursday of this week (just before the 4th of July weekend). The papers will ultimately be used at the Truancy and Dropout Prevention Leadership Forum in September. There, leaders from the federal government, state governments, and school boards across the country will read my papers to gain a better understanding of what the truancy issue in America is about – and how we can effectively fund and sustain successful prevention programs to combat the growing problem. Given two weeks to complete the work, so far, I feel more proud of these two papers than just about any paper I have ever written in school. Maybe it is because I feel like my work is going toward a meaningful project, or maybe it is because for the last two weeks, all of my work energy has been spent working on these topics. Either way, all of the work I am doing for the ABA thus far has been significant, worthwhile, and definitely a learning experience.
This weekend, friends from home are coming to visit for the Fourth. I am excited to show them the city, and give them a taste of what I have been doing for the summer. People have asked me where I am going to take them when they come to visit, and to be honest – I have not been able to decide! There has been so much that I have enjoyed, that it is hard to pick just a few places to show them in the short time they are here.
It has been a quiet week—full of work before our big three day weekend—but hopefully next week after the Fourth I will have much more to write about! I am looking forward to the Capital Fourth being an experience, as opposed to just a show I watch each year with my family on TV, miles away from the real thing. Looking forward to a fun weekend – Happy almost July Fourth! 
