*sigh*...

The night before I leave DC. Last time, I didn't want to leave, but I knew that I would be coming back for the experience this past summer. Now, it's not so much that I don't want to leave as I don't know when I'll return to this city that I love. I want more than anything to be home right now, but the thought of leaving this city for good scares me. I'm also afraid of returning to the Madison pace of life... everything is so different here.

Here, I have met people that changed my life. I have encountered experiences I never dreamt of going through. I have learned more about myself than I ever though possible from simply moving to a different city. I have started to develop into the person I see myself being for the rest of my life: more mature, more professional, more relaxed, more driven and especially more focused. Although the wealth of opportunities to which I have been exposed has made me less sure of my future path, I have become more accepting of not knowing exactly where I'm headed.

I've realized that in one's career, in love, in life, everything comes down to timing. You can work hard for something and want it with everything you have, but if the timing isn't right, insisting on the best results will be futile. Sometimes things work out and it's great, sometimes things happen the way you want them to and it's not what you though it would be, sometimes things don't turn out and it's okay, and sometimes they don't and it hurts. To optimize the choices, you have to be prepared to the best of your ability for anything that comes along. That necessitates great flexibility, calmness and confidence. I'm working on it.

*sigh*

Time to conquer the next city, I suppose... :)

done

Well, I just got home after my last day at work. It killed me to say goodbye. The entire experience in the press office has made me think that I really do want to pursue press in the future. The excitement and pressure of the office, coupled with the fact that we knew everything that was going to happen before it happened, helped to make my internship stressful and complicated, but also gave me a sense of how capable I can be in situations that require efficiency and constant monitoring. I feel that I made a good impression on the individuals within the office and that the internship was very successful overall.

Now, I have four days in this wonderful city with nothing to do but have fun! I fly back to Madison on Tuesday.