School has started and I’m officially back to being a normal college student. I walk the Lubbock sidewalks just like I did before and it’s as if I was never in DC at all. Being back forces me to ask the question of what being in DC really meant. In the grand scheme of things, what impact will it have?
Well, as with most things in life, the internship is what I make of it. In DC, I tried to make the most of my time by learning from my surroundings. It would be practically impossible not to learn at least something while walking the halls of Capitol Hill for a semester. I learned from the staff in my office, from my Congressman, and from the everyday routine of everyone on the Hill. I saw how regular people impacted our office, how our office impacted the Congressman and how our Congressman then impacted the votes. YEAH! Your voice really does get heard!
I also learned a lot from the people I was with and from the city itself. Being from Lubbock, I’ve never lived anywhere else but this fairly quiet West Texas town. It was quite a shock to move to such a large city where they walk and take the metro instead of driving their “big ‘ol pickup trucks” everywhere. It was equally (if not more) shocking to begin living with seventeen other people, but I learned a lot from the experience as a whole as well as from each person individually. I have seen a few of my roommates (now my new friends) on campus already and I can’t help but miss living within three feet from them.
I am also trying to make the most of my internship even now that it’s over and I am back in Lubbock. I want to keep in touch with everyone I met from this experiences. I would like to keep up with all of the internship coordinators in both Washington DC and Lubbock, everyone I met on the Hill, and with all of my roommates. I have already hung out with a few of them and it seems to help me forget, at least for a little bit, of how much I am greatly missing Washington, DC.
In the grand scheme of things, this internship could just be some hours added to my degree or an extra line added to my resume. However, it has been and always will be much more than that. I will not forget the things I learned about the practices and policies of our federal government and I definitely will not forget the friends I made while exploring such a cool city.I may be back in Lubbock but my mind will always be on Washington DC.
