Epilogue

Good afternoon everyone! I hope that everyone is having a great week, even though I know that in the case of many of you there are still finals, papers, and projects up ahead. Meanwhile, some of you are already done with college or even graduated from college. Alas, it would not be wise to delay the inevitable, so here's what happened in the past week.
I have started to hunt for my first car. As a college student, I know that I can only afford a used car, but a Chevy that fits my price range and a couple other qualifications would be nice. I don't know if I will take the car to college with me in the fall, but it will definitely come in handy for the summer.
Life back home reminds me of what home life is like during the summer, even though the outdoor temperatures don't fit the season yet. I've done the typical chores back home, like laundry and cleaning. I've also watched some TV shows with my family, such as "NCIS", "NCIS: Los Angeles", "Star Trek" reruns, and "MASH" reruns. There's been plenty of time to pet my dog Buddy.
On Mother's Day, the 10th, I visited my home church for the first time in about 4 months. I feel kind of old, considering that some of the kids that I considered to be so young have recently been confirmed. (People get confirmed in 8th grade at my church.) After church, I made lunch as well as a coconut cake for my mom. It's been 3 years since the last time I was home for Mother's Day. Overall, the day was relaxing.
On Wednesday, May 12th, an excerpt that I wrote for the Washington Internship Institute (WII) about my experience at AAPD was published on the WII website. If you would like to read it, here is the link: http://wiidc.org/studentprofiles/2015/5/11/rpaolr1f3ejn86valkbcirdi78zwur I sent the link to the head of the Political Science department, and he sent it to the other Political Science professors at Gustavus. He would also like me to speak about my experiences sometime next school year for a Friday Forum.
Thus ends the last post for my blog "So Many Stories...". I may write again about a different chapter and season of my life, but only time will tell when exactly that will be... In the meantime, I wish the best of luck to those who have finals before their semester is done!

The Journey Home

Good evening from Blaine, Minnesota and not Arlington, Virginia! I hope that you all had a great week. I know that technically my semester on the East Coast is over, but there is still quite a bit that happened over the past week...
On Saturday, the 2nd, I moved out of my apartment with the help of my mom. Between Friday night and Saturday I was giving my goodbyes to the people that I got to know the most over the semester. After I moved out and turned in my keys, I introduced my mom to the Metro System in order to go sightseeing. We first went to the International Spy Museum. When we were there, we took on cover identities, heard an introduction about some facts about spies from Linda Hunt (she portrays Hetty Lange on NCIS: Los Angeles), and saw some cool spy gadgets. We even saw a letter written by George Washington and code devices used in the Civil War by the Union and Confederate sides. After that museum, we went to Shake Shack where we enjoyed milkshakes, burgers, and fries. Then we went to the Crime Museum where we saw items owned by some of the infamous American criminals such as Al Capone and Bonnie and Clyde, a variety of weapons and punishment devices from across history, and a few items used in the TV show America's Most Wanted. After that we returned to the hotel for the night.
On Sunday, the 3rd, after a nice breakfast at the hotel we did some more sightseeing. In order, we saw the Washington Monument, World War II Memorial, World War I Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, and Albert Einstein Memorial. For lunch and dessert we went to Krispy Kreme and Panera Bread. From there we returned to the hotel for the night.
On Monday, the 4th, my mom and I woke up early in order to start the journey home. After about 14 hours on the road and 1,000 miles (for the record my mom wasn't speeding), we stopped for the night in Bloomington, Illinois.
On Tuesday, the 5th, we woke up early once again in order to travel the rest of the way home. Approximately 8 hours later, we arrived back home and we even managed to beat my dad and brother home. Needless to say, it feels nice yet odd to be back home.
I miss the people I met over the semester and it feels weird to be done for the semester while many of my friends still have classes and finals over the next couple weeks. Anyway, next week I will write one last blog post in order to close this chapter of my life. Stay tuned!

Things Coming Full Circle

Hello everyone! I hope that you all are having a good week. Due to the fact that as I write I'm packing up my belongings because I move out tomorrow, this post will be shorter than usual. Therefore, let's get started.
Lately I've noticed that some aspects of my time away from MN have come full circle. Last Friday on my way to the Metro with my fellow AAPD interns, which was the last day of Niki's time at AAPD, we walked by the place where we got milkshakes on the first Friday of my internship. On Sunday, April 26th, after church some members of the congregation at Great Commission Community Church and I went to the same Vietnamese restaurant that I went after the first time I went to that church. Over the past couple days I've come across a couple different Minnesotans, one from a different nonprofit organization who happened to come to the monthly event that AAPD hosts and the other at the bank, of which reminded me of when I first met a fellow Minnesotan when I first attended Great Commission Community Church. Yesterday, April 30th, I walked by the Smithsonian Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery, which the first Smtihsonian that I visited during my time here. Tomorrow I will turn in my keys to the very office where I first picked them up. It's interesting how the closure of an experience works sometimes...
There will be much more to write about next week, and by then I'll be back in MN too. Have a great weekend everyone!

To Act or Not To Act- That is the Question

Disclaimer: I did not have a sudden epiphany to switch to an acting career from one related to politics. The title will make sense in time, so be patient.
Good evening everyone! I hope that this week was pleasant for all of you. Anyway, quite a bit happened between when I last wrote and now...
On Saturday the 18th I returned to the Natural History Museum in order to look at everything I didn't see last time and this time I was ready with a fully-charged camera. While there were many fake animals, there were some live butterflies, various insects, and fish. I also took a couple photos of the Hope Diamond and saw a couple mummies. Out of all of the museums I've visited, I think that Natural History is the most child-friendly since there are lots of items throughout the museum with a "Please Touch" sign near them. From the museum I walked to the Washington Monument because of the Global Citizen 2015 Earth Day Concert, which was free for the public to attend. While I was there, I heard a few political figures, the makers of Angry Birds, a spokesperson from Toyota, and a pre-recorded Secretary of State John Kerry talk about their hopes and initiatives in order to decrease impact on climate change and end poverty by 2030. I witnessed Fall Out Boy, Usher, and Common perform on stage and I thought they did a great job. One of the big themes from the event was the fact that in order to make these goals happen, we as a society need to act and not just be bystanders. The results of not acting would damage the future of both Earth and all who live on it.
On Sunday the 19th I went to the Shakespeare Folger Library in order to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday. Outside of the library there was a dynamic duo called Nickel Shakespeare Girls that performed 30-second snippets of whatever Shakespeare play people requested with some humorous twists. I got to go inside the Reading Room, which is not normally open for public access, and see some intriguing tapestries, paintings, and stained glass windows. Casey Kaleba, fight coordinator for Folger Theatre performances, put on a couple sword-fighting demonstrations with some help from 3 assistants. In Folger Theatre, I got to speak a bit of "Hamlet". Towards the end of the celebration, a Queen Elizabeth I impersonator also cut a fancy cake with a rapier and thanked us for coming to celebrate Shakespeare's 451st birthday. All of the guests then received free cake.
Those are the highlights of the past week. Next week's post will cover many events during my last days in DC... In the meantime, have a great week and never take time for granted.

Take Me Out into Nature

Good evening everyone! I hope that you all have enjoyed your week. Yes the title of this week's post is based on "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" because I did see a baseball game this week, but there is also a strong influence of nature this week. Quite a few things took place over the past week, so let's get started.
To provide a bit a context, from last Thursday to Monday 13th was peak bloom for the cherry blossoms. Peak bloom means that at least 70% of the blossoms were in bloom at the Tidal Basin. Many Japanese consider cherry blossoms to be bridges between Heaven and Earth...
On Saturday the 11th I saw many things that had to do with nature. In the morning, I went to see the Cherry Blossom Festival Parade. There were quite a few marching bands, balloons, old-style cars, and floats. Also, there were some horses, old-fashioned bicycles, unicycles, and even roller skaters. However, there was no candy thrown at this parade, which probably disappointed the little kids who were present. After the parade, I visited part of the Natural History Museum. (I didn't get through all of it since my camera battery was starting to die and I wanted to see the cherry blossoms.) I walked to the Washington Monument and Tidal Basin to see the cherry blossoms. While it was super crowded since people were out enjoying peak bloom, it was so lovely outside. I was surprised though to see more white than pink in the cherry blossoms. Nevertheless, it was beautiful.
On a side-note though, I was annoyed to see people picking the blossoms when there were a couple signs that clearly stated that people couldn't climb on the trees or pick the blossoms. When it comes to nature, sometimes by touching or taking away we ruin the beauty that we aspire to admire. Perhaps more signs should have been posted about not picking the flowers...
After church on Sunday the 12th, some of the people from the congregation at the church I attend and I went to Pentagon City to grab lunch and then went to Virginia Highlands Park for a picnic since the weather was nice. It has been a while since I last went to a picnic, so this was a fun opportunity to get to know some of the people at my church.
When I was done with work on Monday the 13th, I still had to record a video for my Internship Seminar, so one of my fellow interns from AAPD, Subha, and I went to the Tidal Basin in order to record to video with some cherry blossoms in the background. It took 21 takes to get it right since I get nervous when I know I'm being recorded, but I think it turned out alright. Like Saturday, the weather was fantastic. However, there weren't as many people around, which was nice for recording purposes.
Fast-forward to yesterday, the 16th, and I decided to walk from my internship to the Tidal Basin, which was about a half an hour walk. I will say that it was a bit sad to see the Tidal Basin after peak bloom, since so many of the blossoms were blown off (or in some cases picked off). However, some cherry blossom trees still had some flowers on them. From Tidal Basin I went to Nationals Stadium in order to see the Washington Nationals play against the Philadelphia Phillies. Many of my fellow interns from the Washington Internship Institute (WII) also attended the game, and thankfully the program paid for our tickets. I was surprised that the game went by so quickly; the first pitch was at 7:05 PM and the game ended before 10:00 PM. For the record, the Nationals won 5-2.
Today was the last day of my fellow intern at AAPD Niki, which is another reminder to me that my time is coming to a close. Next week will have its own series of events, so stay tuned! In the meantime, make sure to stop and smell the roses during your week.

History and His Story

Good evening everyone from a cloudy Arlington, VA! I hope that you all are having a good week. Also, I hope that everyone had a happy Easter! Anyway, here are a couple highlights from the past week.
Last Saturday, the 4th, I went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History and spent most of my day there. There were a whole lot of things that I saw from different time periods. Among the items from the American Revolution, I saw George Washington's sword and Ben Franklin's cane. I also saw the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key's "The Star-Spangled Banner". A couple pop culture references that I saw included Dorothy's slippers and the puppet of Count von Count. In the category of sport-related items, I saw a pair of Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves and a pair of Apolo Ohno's speed skates. Based on the china and dresses that I saw in the First Ladies' Exhibit, it appears that a lot of things have changed over time, which on one hand isn't surprising, but for some reason I was expecting more consistency in china used at the White House. While I could write for ages about all the things I saw, I feel like that would make people bored. In other words, to find out what else is at the American History Museum, you will have to visit there yourself.
Sunday the 5th was Easter Sunday! The night before I prepared small Easter baskets for my roommates and left them on their bedside tables. (For the record, one of my roommates was spending time with her family while another was with her boyfriend, so no I did not sneak into their rooms while they were asleep in order to place the baskets.) I went to church early in order to see 7 people get baptized, of which most of them were children. The baptisms took place at the swimming pool of the hotel that the church is located. (This may be a bit reminiscent to Prepare people.) A couple pastors asked some of the kids if they were sure they wanted to be baptized right before they were baptized, which caused a bit of laughter. I thought that the Easter baptisms were well-timed, considering all of the symbolism involved in baptism and how Easter in some ways parallels baptism. After the baptisms was of course Easter service, which entailed joyous singing and hearing of the Resurrection and of when Jesus appeared to His disciples after the Resurrection. Unfortunately Easter was also the last service that my friend from church who is also originally from MN attended since she moved back to MN this week. Hopefully we shall see each other again once I return to MN. Unfortunately after Easter service, it was back to the apartment to do homework. Needless to say, this Easter felt off since it was the first time that I spent Easter separated from my family.
There is still so much to see and do, but so little time to do it as time is slipping away... Next week will have more tales of adventure. Enjoy your week everyone!

Gusties Galore

Good evening everyone! I hope that for those of you on Spring Break, that you are having a good time. I will say that it's a bit odd to say that I had my last Spring Break ever last spring and that this year I get no Spring Break, but that is the part of the price I paid in order to be here (besides groceries and Metro transportation of course). Anyway, since Gustavus is on Spring Break this week, I got to see quite a few Gusties.
On Monday March 30th, I got to meet Britta at the Au Bon Pain close to my internship. Au Bon Pain is a cafe that does pastries, bagels, soups, sandwiches, coffee, tea, and other related items. We got to catch up on what was going on over the course of the semester. We also gave each other a few pointers on places to go while in DC. Before we parted ways, I brought her to AAPD and gave her a tour of the office. While we may not have spent hours on end together, I'm glad that we got some time to be together.
Fast-forward to Wednesday April 1st and after work I went to a concert performed by the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra (GSO) since they went on tour in the area for Spring Break. I knew that they were going to be in the area since my work study boss, Al Behrends, told me when and where they were playing as well as asked me advice on places to go and things to do while in Washington DC. However, what my friends in GSO didn't know was that I was going to be at their concert, so I caught some of them by surprise when I just walked up to them while they were chatting outside the church before they needed to be on stage ready to perform. That was a fun surprise to pull! Both before and after the performance, I got to catch up on what was going on in people's lives as well as give them a bit of advice for what to do during their free day in DC on Thursday. They did a fantastic job at the concert! It's always great to hear when hard work and musicianship pays off. I hope that they had a fun free day yesterday.
While there is more that I could write about, I think I will save some things as stories to tell when I'm back in MN. It's weird to think that in a month I will return to MN, but there is much to do before that happens. Next week will have its own story to it. Have a Happy Easter everyone!

First Christian Concert

Good evening everyone! I hope that you all had a great week. I know that many of you are about to go on, are already on, or already had your Spring Break and I hope that it goes/went well! Anyway, now to the big highlight of the week...
On Saturday the 21st I went to Chris Tomlin's Love Ran Red concert where Rend Collective and Tenth Avenue North also performed! This took place at the Patriot Center, which is part of George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. My friend of the family was gracious enough to take me to this performance and he is also a fan of Chris Tomlin. This was the first Christian concert that I ever went to and they set the bar really high for all future Christian concerts that I attend. I had never seen so many believers gathered together before and it was amazing to be a part of it. I will try not to give away too many details since I know that tomorrow the Love Ran Red tour will be in Minneapolis and I don't know if any of you are going to the performance or not. If for some reason you live near Minneapolis but aren't going, I can tell you that you're missing out on some great music.
All of the musicians were absolutely fantastic! Rend Collective started the show with a lot of energy and we audience members got to engage in a bit of Irish chicanery by jumping in the stands. Since St. Patrick's Day was on the 17th, they said "you're welcome" to the audience for enjoying the holiday. (Rend Collective is from Ireland, which is something I didn't know until that night.) Tenth Avenue North took the stage next and they played some music from their newest album Cathedrals as well as some of their older songs. Lead singer Mike Donehey actually went in among the crowds for a portion of one of the songs. Then Chris Tomlin at last performed a mixture of songs from his newest album, Love Ran Red, and some of his most well-known songs over the years. At one point of the concert, Chris Tomlin asked the audience who had attended a performance of his before and who was attending their first one that night. To those of us who it was our first time at a concert of his, he asked, "Where have you been?" We all laughed. There was also a bit of a Q&A session and we found out Chris Tomlin's opinion on Chipotle and the background behind "Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone)" among a few other things. By the time everything was over, I wished that the night went longer.
Now I know that people can have these spiritual high moments, whether it's a Christian concert, a Prepare retreat, or a week at a Bible camp, and then they're scared that they will end up no better off than they were before. Unfortunately that does happen sometimes because the daily routine of life sets in again and then that event fades into our memories as something cool that happened, but it doesn't end up propelling us forward to have a closer relationship with God. So then the big question is how to prevent ourselves from sliding back into the way things were before such an event. After thinking about this for many years, I think I may have an answer to that question...
We have to put in effort in order to dive deeper and know God's heart better. If we don't actively work to make ourselves better people than we were before the spiritual high event happened, then it is only natural to return to old habits after a period of time. The same principle is true when it comes to friendships, athletics, music, or anything else that requires effort in order to cause improvement. Matthew 26:41 talks about how we are to watch and pray so we don't fall into temptation because while the spirit may be willing, the body is weak. However, we're human, which means there will be times where we stumble. This does not mean we are to give up because of our shortcomings and weaknesses. If anything, this means that we need to ask God to come alongside us in our efforts to come closer to Him for even though we may not be able to do it by our own strength, with God ALL things are possible when we seek Him and abide in Him. What this effort looks like can vary from person to person and season to season, but it can be anything from meditating more on God's Word, to spending more time in prayer, to having a jar where each day a blessing is put in the jar. No matter how the effort manifests itself, God is glad that we want to know Him better since He loves us and enjoys when we choose to spend time with Him.
Well, hopefully this post will be some good food for thought until I post again next week. In the meantime, enjoy your week!

Visitors! YAY!

Good evening everyone! I hope that you all had a good week. I'm aware that some of you already have, are in the midst of, or will soon have your Spring Break. To those of you who no longer have Spring Breaks, I can now say that I can relate to you since I will not have a Spring Break this year either. In fact, now that I think about it, last spring will be the last time that I ever have a Spring Break. I think I made a good trade-off though by spending a semester here. Anyway, quite a bit has happened since I last wrote a post...
On Saturday the 14th in the morning I went to pick up my friend Victoria at the airport. The last time we spent time together was over a year ago. I didn't expect a lesson in patience though, for Victoria's flight had a two-hour delay in Philadelphia. I wish I brought a book along for the wait. Needless to say, we were very happy to see each other when her flight finally came in. We headed to my apartment for some lunch before we went to see the Washington Monument and the Holocaust Museum. I confess that I failed to take into account that since it is now tourist season (from March until about September), it's harder for people to get tickets for various places, such as the Holocaust Museum or going up the Washington Monument. As a result of this, we couldn't get into the Permanent Exhibition of the Holocaust Museum, so instead we went to the temporary exhibitions such as the Children's Wall (a wall of tiles painted by kids to express their feelings about the Holocaust) and the interactive exhibit more geared towards children so they could understand the Holocaust from a child's perspective. We returned back to my apartment for dinner, and we discovered that bacon and cheese stuffed crust pizza from Pizza Hut is delicious! Later in the evening, we went back to the airport to pick up Victoria's boyfriend Riley and from there went our separate ways; I went to my apartment while they went to their hotel.
The next day, Sunday the 15th, all three of us met up after lunch in order to do more sightseeing. We went to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, then the White House for some pictures, a gift shop not too far from the White House, and Ford's Theatre. Seeing the timeline of the day of Lincoln's assassination from both Lincoln's and John Wilkes Booth's perspectives was a bit creepy. For dinner we went to GBD (short for Golden Brown Delicious), which is a restaurant that specializes in fried chicken and doughnuts. The Luther, a sandwich that has a doughnut as the bun, bacon, boneless fried chicken, maple-chicken jus (the taste reminded me of maple syrup), and pecans, was pretty good. Krispy Kreme was our dessert destination, and I am a bit sad that there are no more Krispy Kreme shops in Minnesota.
Fast-forward to Wednesday the 18th, and my supervisor allowed me to have a day to be a tour guide to Victoria and Riley. I made cinnamon rolls and bacon for breakfast, and I was relieved that the bacon turned out well since this was the first time I ever made bacon on the stove. (Back home I use the microwave to cook bacon, but the apartment didn't have any bacon trays.) Victoria and Riley came to my apartment for breakfast, and from there we went to the zoo. The bad news is that it was a chilly day, so not all of the animals were outside. However, among the highlights of creatures I did see in the zoo were giant pandas and an elephant that is 67 years old. After the zoo, we walked to the National Cathedral, which was nice to go to once again. (Note: If you ever visit the National Cathedral and don't want to pay in order to get a tour, visit on a Sunday.) From there we went to Shake Shack, a place known for their shakes and burgers. I tried their chicken hot dog, but I wasn't very impressed with it. I can tell you that the Beltway Blonde (a concrete mixer which contains vanilla custard, cheesecake blonde, salted caramel sauce, and banana) was pretty good, but I think that Doughnuts are Forever was better. Then we went to the Kennedy Center, where we found that the cherry blossoms are in bloom! We listened to a now 10 year old (his birthday was today) boy from Bolivia who is blind play the piano. He was fantastic and so sweet! Once the concert was over, Victoria and I took a few pictures of the Potomac River and the cherry blossoms. When we got to the Metro station, Riley and Victoria went to see a few memorials at night while I went back to my apartment.
Victoria and Riley flew back home this morning, but I believe that they enjoyed their Spring Break here. I'm glad I got to go with them to both places I've been to before and new places.
Stay tuned next week for more adventures! Have a terrific week everyone!

Fast and Slow Paced

I hope that you all have enjoyed warmer weather this week. Anyway, this past week had both its busy and slow moments...

On Saturday the 7th I visited the American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery. I was there from the time that it opened at 11:30 AM until about 6:15 PM, but there was so much art to see and descriptions to read. I didn't want to rush through the place, and I enjoyed my time there. After a long day of looking at art, I went to this restaurant called Shake Shack, where I tried a concrete mixer called Doughnuts Are Forever, which consisted of vanilla custard, a coconut doughnut, strawberry jam, and rainbow sprinkles. It was delicious!

I'll skip forward to Wednesday the 11th, which was a busy day for AAPD. In the morning I was at a CEO Roundtable, which took place at the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and had representatives from many different disability organizations. Then in the afternoon was the DEI (short for Disability Equality Index, which is a "national, transparent benchmarking tool that offers businesses an opportunity to receive an objective score, on a scale of zero to 100, on their disability inclusion policies and practices. It is an aspirational, educational, recognition tool that is intended to help companies identify opportunities for continued improvement and help build a company's reputation as an employer of choice" that was created with the help of AAPD and the US Business Leadership Network (USBLN) (http://www.usbln.org/programs-dei.html)) Reception at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. That evening was the AAPD Leadership Awards Gala, which also happened at the Convention Center. Needless to say, that was a busy day and even though there were a few small hitches, everything turned out all right at the end.

The next couple days were much slower. Yesterday was the first time ever that I got to leave my internship early due to a lack of things to do. Today I left my internship even earlier than yesterday since there was very little to do. While it seemed weird to have this unexpected free time, I am thankful for it, especially today.

Well, that's all for this week. May you all have a great upcoming week and stay tuned for next week's post!

A Mystery Solved and A Birthday Party

Good evening everyone! I hope that this week has been going well for you all and that you are keeping warm. The good news is that there is more for me to write about this week, so I'll cut to the chase with a couple highlights from the week.
My mystery all began on February 19th, where I received a text from my friend Kelly back from my college town. She asked me the following questions: Bling or not, dark or light, spring or fall, pattern or not? Now some people know that sometimes I ask 4 questions in order to determine what to give people, but this was the first time that the same technique was used on me. Needless to say I was a bit confused but also curious to find out what she and my other friends were up to. So I answered Kelly's questions and then waited... until this past Tuesday the 3rd when this came in the mail:

It was a card which contain messages from some of my friends from Prepare! I like to receive mail, and while this is not the first time that I got mail this semester, it was the first time where many people collaborated to send me mail. Thank you to Kelly, Lizzy, Amanda, Dani, Dave O., Mariah, Noah, and Rachel for pulling this surprise off!
On Wednesday the 4th, my two fellow interns at AAPD asked me to go to Ohio's Annual Birthday Party with them. (Both of my fellow interns are originally from Ohio.) I didn't know that people came together to celebrate the birthday of a state, but apparently it's a thing. So the three of us headed off to the Madison Building of the Library of Congress. To my relief, I did not get kicked out for actually being from Minnesota. Overall, there was great food and a nice change of scenery.
It feels weird to think about the fact that my semester is almost half over... Anyway, I hope you guys have a good week and stay tuned for next week's post.

Same Place, but Different from how I Remember It...

Many people know that this is the second time in my life that I have spent some time in the Arlington/DC area. However, I can say there are a couple places that are a bit different compared to how I remember them.
Some of my fellow interns and I took a tour of the Capitol on Tuesday. However, the season wasn't the only thing that was different. Right now the dome portion of the Capitol is under repairs, so now inside the Capitol there are some tarps up which cover part of the dome's interior. Since those tarps blocked an extra source of light, the inside of the Capitol seemed gloomier and not quite as majestic as it was when I saw it during the summer before I started college. I hope that the repair work turns out well.
The other place that seems different to me is the Pentagon Mall. When I was last there, I was with my marching band friends getting dinner and buying a few souvenirs. However, it's weird to go there by myself if I'm just passing through to get to my next destination. Also, I've now gone through some different entrances and exits from when I first visited the Pentagon Mall less than 3 years ago. Now it also seems like just another mall than a place for a tourist to make a stop at.
I know this post is brief, but there's not much to say this week. Hopefully there will be more for me to write about next week.

A Picture can Say 1,000 Words...

I think that everyone knows that infamous expression. However, I want to put that theory to the test with a picture that I took...

It’s not very often when someone can say that they took a picture of the outside of the building while they themselves were still on the inside. I took this picture of the Washington National Cathedral, which is also less commonly known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, from the seventh level on Sunday, February 15^th. For those of you who are unfamiliar with DC territory, in order to get to the Washington National Cathedral without a car, one must take the Metro, then take a bus, and from there do some walking. However, a friend of my family was willing to take me to the Cathedral by car, which I’m thankful for considering that it was a cold and windy day. The night before I took this picture, I had a brief discussion over the phone with my pen-pal and brother in Christ about how much I was looking forward to visiting the National Cathedral. When I first saw it, I was taken aback at how massive it is in both size and splendor. My family friend and I went inside for the 11:15AM service. Inside the sanctuary were the flags of each of the fifty states. This was the first time I ever went to an Anglican style service, which is also known as an Episcopalian service. Nevertheless, it was a good service. I liked to sing with the congregation, considering that I do not get to participate in as much musical activities as I do at Gustavus. The sermon was about how responsibilities are passed down from one generation to the next. After the service, my family friend and I were admiring the architecture and stained glass windows of the Cathedral. A nice gentleman told the two of us some background information about the Space Window, which was made in honor of the Apollo XI mission and actually has a piece of moon rock from the mission inside the window.

We received a half an hour long tour of the Cathedral. Due to the impact of two World Wars and the varying flow of private funds (the Washington National Cathedral receives no government funding), it took 83 years to complete the Cathedral’s construction. The work began on September 27, 1907 and finally ended on September 29, 1990. Almost everything in the Cathedral was made by hand, from the exterior to the kneelers. The central tower of the Cathedral is the tallest point in Washington DC, at 676 feet above sea level. Unfortunately, the Cathedral is still undergoing repair work for the damage that it took from the 2011 earthquake. There were a couple portions of scaffolding both outside on the Cathedral and a big stretch of scaffolding inside the sanctuary itself. A few places in the sanctuary had blue masking tape, which marked places where there were cracks to be fixed. According to the tour guide, all of the repair work should be done by the end of spring or summer at the latest. A few pieces of angels and gargoyles that broke due to the earthquake were on display at the seventh floor for people to look at, but my family friend and I didn’t see them until after the tour was over.

There are some very interesting stories behind some of the items inside the National Cathedral. The Canterbury Pulpit was made by people from the Church of Canterbury in England and given to the National Cathedral as a gift. The pulpit depicts the story of the translation of the Bible. That pulpit is the same pulpit where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his last Sunday sermon, which was four days before his assassination. As to the Space Window, part of the reason why there is a piece of moon rock inside the window from the Apollo XI mission is because astronaut Michael Collins was an alumnus of St. Albans School at the Cathedral Close (the school is right next to the Cathedral). Also, stars on the Space Window were made by blowing bubbles in the glass, which is difficult to do. The Creation Rose, which is one of three rose windows at the Washington National Cathedral, was made from over ten thousand, five hundred pieces of stained glass. When the sun is out, the dazzling colors from the Creation Rose reach all the way to the front of the sanctuary, which is the distance of about two football fields. Each of the kneelers represents a different historical person from American history and they get rotated; you may see Susan B. Anthony’s kneeler one day and the next it’s replaced by David Farragut’s or Ronald Reagan’s. President Woodrow Wilson is the only President to have his final resting place at the Washington National Cathedral. However, every President who passed away had either a memorial or funeral service at the Washington National Cathedral. Both Helen Keller and Ann Sullivan are interred at the Cathedral as well. In fact, there is a plaque that is written in Braille in the lower level of the Cathedral which states that Helen Keller and Ann Sullivan are buried there. While there is so much I saw and learned while I was at the Cathedral, I don’t think my descriptions could do justice to the place.

At the end of the sermon, it was mentioned that a few years ago at a pastor’s convention they started to record the retirement speeches of pastors that would soon retire. The purpose of it was to capture a piece of time so that the moment would live on. According to the pastor though, in comparison to the actual event it’s just not the same. The same is true about my experience at the Washington National Cathedral. No matter how many pictures I took or much I describe the architecture or fun facts about different parts of the Cathedral, it’s not the same as if you were to experience all of it for yourself.

Parallels Between the Metro/Bus and the Walk with God

Disclaimer: I know that not everyone is a Christian and there are some people who do not think that God even exists. If you feel offended by the content of this blog post or don't agree with what I write, no one is forcing you to read it. You can exit this page at anytime and I won't be offended by it.


After a nearly a month of using the Metro/bus to get to my internship, class, and a few fun places, I think I'm ready to articulate the connections that I see. Some people may think that it's crazy or that some parts actually represent other things, and that's okay. I admit that I may not have it all right either, since I am only human.


A person represents his/herself. God is the bus/Metro driver. Try as we might, it is not our job to worry about the road ahead, since we're not the ones who are supposed to be in the driver's seat. (I know there are times where I would like to be the one in control, but I have to remind myself that I am not supposed to be the driver since I'm human and make mistakes while God is perfect and has a plan for me, even when I cannot see the whole picture.) The bus/Metro symbolizes many different things, such as an opportunity and even God's protection. When people miss the bus, it represents an opportunity missed. Some people can actually see opportunity drive on by without them. (I know I've missed the bus/Metro a couple times.) Then people have to wait for the next opportunity to come as well as pray that they didn't miss their last chance. Now I know that there are times where it seems like that protection is nonexistent whenever tragedy strikes, but it is that protection that keeps us alive to see another sunrise and also will one day take us to meet our Heavenly Father. Also, sometimes people can see the storm surrounding them from their place inside God's protection while they themselves are safe from the elements.
The Metro/bus station represents a place of waiting. Sometimes it's waiting for a prayer to be answered, other times it's waiting for a gift or an opportunity to come. The wait can be longer for some things than for others. There may be other people waiting alongside you, or you may be alone. If you're waiting for a bus to come, the cold, heat, wind, and rain serve as deterrents to the waiting process, trying to tell you that it's not worth it to wait around for a gift or an answer. (I should know, today I missed the bus and had to wait about 20 minutes for the next one in the midst of the cold and wind.) However, when it comes to waiting for God's perfect timing, it is always worth it no matter how much suspense there is leading up to the right moment.
The bus/Metro seats represent places of rest, seasons where God wants us to relax and go with the flow. Sometimes out the window people can see the storms that aren't touching them, other times as they sit they can see the beauty of what God made. Meanwhile, the handles and bars on the inside represent God's Word, which people should cling onto in times of storm and trial. The bumps and sudden turns/movements on the road/track, although they may be annoying, are also times where it is good to grab onto God's Word so that you don't end up being flung about the bus/Metro. As to the calluses on people's fingers and hands as well as the increased upper body strength from having to use the handles and bars often, it represents the building up of one's trust and faith in God.
While it is true that the destination matters, to say that the journey is only a means to get to the destination is to deny the importance of the journey itself.

Wrong Place at the Right Time and Right Place at the Wrong Time

Hello everyone! I hope that the first few days of February went well for you. Even though there are plenty of good things that have happened while I've been away from home, it would be inaccurate of me to avoid the mention of any events that went wrong...
On Tuesday the 3rd, some of my fellow interns and I were supposed to listen to a speaker from the New Democrat Network (NDN) for part of our class. So we headed off to what we thought was the location of the NDN. However, what none of us interns knew was that there was a failure in communication between our professor and the speaker to confirm that the location was still the same as last year. The truth was that the NDN had moved locations 4 months ago, so needless to say we were very confused on why we couldn't find the NDN on the building directory when we arrived at the time the speaker was supposed to start. After a few phone calls, we finally found out about the correct building for the NDN. We had to walk all the way back the way we came and then a few blocks beyond that in order to get to the NDN. On the bright side, it can be said that we got plenty of exercise on Tuesday. Once we got there, it took a bit of trial and error to find the correct floor that the NDN was on. Finally, we got to hear the NDN speaker and after a few questions we interns headed back to the apartment.
A couple days later, Thursday the 5th, a bit of a different situation occurred. After a long day at work, I headed to the Metro station in order to take the Blue Line back to the apartment. (There are 6 different Metro routes that run throughout various parts of the DC/Virginia/Maryland area and each of them is named after a color. They are Blue, Yellow, Silver, Orange, Red, and Green.) Unfortunately as I was headed towards the platform, I could see the Metro pulling out of the station. The bad news is that I had to wait over 10 minutes for the next Metro that used the Blue Line to arrive. (Normally the only time people have to wait more than 10 minutes is on the weekends.) On the other hand, when I boarded the Metro, it wasn't as crowded as it can be sometimes.
Even though some parts of this week were a bit of a downer, I can say that I tried a Nutella cookie and it was delicious! Have a great week people!

4 Business Cards, 3 Roommates, 2 Networking Events, and a Whole Bunch of Cantaloupe

If when you saw this title and thought of it to the tune of "12 Days of Christmas", then congratulations for following my train of thought, because that was the point of the title. Now that the moment of music puns has come and gone, it's time to bring you all up to speed on the highlights of this week.
This week I received 4 business cards from people of various political professions. Now for those of you who will one day need business cards, I will warn you now that I handed out about 7 or 8 business cards and received 4, which means that business card exchanges may not always be an equal ratio. Some people run out of business cards at an inconvenient time or just plain don't have a business card of their own, but it's still good to spread your name because it could help you get a future job.
My 3 roommates and I get along pretty well. We take the same classes on Tuesdays, but we intern at very different places. Nevertheless, we do enjoy our internships and each other's company. We've had both some good laughs and interesting discussions. Apparently they now think that I should teach a seminar on how to hand out business cards....
Ironically though, the 2 networking events that I attended this week were the first time that I ever handed out business cards. As a student under the Washington Internship Institute (WII), it was highly recommended that we make our own business cards. The 2 networking events were on Tuesday the 27th and Wednesday the 28th. Both of them had good food and different people to talk to. However, the event on the 27th was sponsored by WII and took place in a bar called Blackfinn while the organization I intern at was in charge of the event on the 28th and it took place in the building I work in.
After the networking event was over on the 28th, my supervisor, fellow interns, other workers at where I intern at, and I were putting away leftover food in the fridge. There was this huge container (as in approximately 13" x 19") that was mostly full of cantaloupe that was too big to fit in the fridge. My supervisor stated earlier in the evening that we could take home some of the food if there were leftovers, so I volunteered to take the container back to the apartment. I may have received a few weird looks from other passengers when I rode the Metro that night, but I wasn't paying too much attention since I was very happy to have a whole bunch of cantaloupe. I REALLY like any kind of melon. Once I was back at the apartment and told my roommates about the cantaloupe, I found out to my surprise that one of them doesn't like cantaloupe. After I realized that there was too much cantaloupe for 3 people to eat, I split about half of the amount of cantaloupe with another apartment of WII students. So if you give a Minnesotan fan of melons too much cantaloupe, they will share the wealth with others.
Well, that's about everything this week. Next week there will be a couple more stories, so stay tuned!

There's a First Time for Everything

Good evening everyone! I hope that this week has been going well for all of you. Anyway, there's a few first times that I would like to highlight that have happened within the first week...


My first Sunday, the 18th, brought many firsts. For the first time ever, I went to a church where to be Caucasian was to be in the minority and also this church was located inside a hotel. The church I went to was just about a 10 minute walk from where I live. Like the church I attend when I'm at Gustavus, Two Rivers Vineyard Church, they played contemporary music, have kind people, and are blessed with a good preacher. After the service, I was introduced to the first Minnesotan that I've come across since I first started my semester. We both laughed a bit about how people tend overreact to a little bit of snow. From there we went to a Vietnamese restaurant (unfortunately I can't remember the name, but I do remember that I can't pronounce it), which was another new experience for me. I can tell you that the food was yummy!


Martin Luther King Jr. Day had its own set first time adventures. One of my roommates along with 3 other fellow interns and I all went to the Kennedy Center. We sat in the second tier of seats in the Millennium Stage, and the section of seats we sat in were formatted in such a way where there was only one seat per row, so we all sat in a row, only it was vertical instead of horizontal. We Natalie Cole, the daughter of Nat King Cole, perform along with the Georgetown University's Let Freedom Ring Choir for this FREE concert. The music was fantastic and it's hard to pick an absolute favorite piece, but I really liked the duet that Natalie Cole did with footage of her late father for the song "Unforgettable". After this concert, we found a little pub called Lindy's Red Lion, and I can testify that the food was delicious and it was at a reasonable price (as in Midwestern reasonable, which means it was tasty and cheap, with the exception of the 10% sales tax).
The next day, the 20th, was the first day of classes, including my first-ever 3 hour long class. However, both classes got done in about half the time it would normally take, so that meant we got done early. I don't think that will be the case next week, but I'm looking forward to the fact that one of my classes will have a different speaker (or 2) each week on a different topic.
Wednesday the 21st was the first day of my internship. I found out that I am one out of three interns for the particular place I'm interning at, and I can say that the other two interns are nice people. The most intimidating task of my first day was answering phone calls since I wasn't expecting the phone at my desk to ring at all.
Yesterday, the 22nd, had a first that I wasn't expecting so soon. A bunch of high school students who came for the March for Life boarded the bus I was taking back to the apartment. When we all got to the final stop of the bus, I gave them some advice on which Metro to take in order to get to their destination and to make sure that their Metrocard had enough money so that it wouldn't go less than a dollar in the negative. It felt good to be in a position where I could help other travelers even though I've only been in the area for a little over a week.
Today my supervisor at my internship treated all three of us interns to shakes at BTS, which is short for Burgers, Taps, and Shakes. While my supervisor got the peanut butter shake, all three of us got the cookies and cream shake, and we agree that it was yummy!
Well, I think that's enough writing for one week since I know I can write quite a bit, I don't want to write so much that I bore people to tears. Have a great weekend and stay tuned for next week!

Road Trip, Move-In, and Orientation

Hello everyone! I hope that you are all having a great week. There have been many events that have taken place since I last wrote, and since today is Friday it's time to provide an update.


On Monday the 12th at about 4 AM, my mom and I began the drive from Minnesota to get to the DC area. My job was to navigate us without getting lost. Once we left MN, we went through part of Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana before we spent the night at Zanesville, Ohio. The next day, the 13th, we left the hotel around 8 AM  and travelled through the rest of Ohio, part of the top portion of West Virginia, a bit of Pennsylvania, West Virginia again (to avoid toll booths in Pennsylvania), and Maryland. However, when we got to Washington DC, we managed to get ourselves lost a couple times for about half an hour to an hour since the roads were confusing. (Note: This was the ONLY time we got lost.) When we finally got to our destination, the amount of driving time it took to get from my house to DC was about 22 hours. While the road trip was a bit tiring, it was also fun.


On Wednesday the 14th, I moved into my apartment along with most of the people who are part of the Washington Internship Institute (WII) this semester. (A few people moved in early due to an earlier start to their internship or because of travelling circumstances.) There was also some snow that morning in Virginia, and to my surprise there were school cancelations and warnings on the news to be careful on the roads when they received only about a centimeter of snow. After many trips back and forth between the car and my apartment, all of my belongings were moved into my apartment. My roommates and I went out for lunch and walked around on sidewalks that we thought had way more salt than was actually necessary. Then we bought a few groceries before we returned to the apartment. From there I met up with my mom again in order get a few items in bulk from a nearby Costco and brought those to the apartment before we said our goodbyes. I got to do a bit of unpacking before my roommates and I met the rest of our fellow interns for pizza and a few icebreaker games. There are a total of 28 people including me who are part of the program this semester (20 females and 8 males for those of you who are curious to know the gender breakdown). Following our socializing time, one of my roommates and I went to fill our Metro cards and got a couple items at Marshalls before we returned to the apartment to put away more of my belongings before I turned in for the night.


Yesterday, the 15th, I woke up at 7AM, which was painful since my brain is still not accustomed to Eastern Time, so I felt like I woke up at 6AM which is early for me. However, we had to take the Metro (which is the equivalent of the subway in New York) in order to get to the WII office by 8:30AM for breakfast, so off we went. After breakfast, my fellow interns and I walked to the Charles Sumner School listened to a few introductions, some advice, and learned about how to navigate ourselves while we're in DC. We then put those skills to the test through a picture scavenger hunt in groups of 3 or 4 people, which took us from the White House, to the US Botanic Garden, to the Friendship Arch in the Chinatown section of DC, to finally the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery. After all of that walking (with one ride on the Metro too), a few of us took the Metro to a couple stores that were close to our apartment building in order to get some more groceries or other needed supplies for our apartments. Once our shopping was done, we headed back to our apartments for the night.


Today I woke up early again for day two of orientation. Once again my fellow interns and I took the Metro to get to the WII office for breakfast, and walked to the Charles Sumner School. After that we received some words of wisdom for when it comes to being an intern as well as networking. Dr. Peggy Lewis, Associate Dean of the Graduate School and Director of Media Studies at Trinity Washington University, then spoke to us and she gave us her list of ten and a half things that we should keep in mind throughout the semester. She also allowed us to ask her questions about how her career. When orientation was done for today, one of my roommates and I visited Carpe Librium. This is a gently used bookstore that gives all the proceeds to Turning the Page, an organization in DC with the mission to give DC students the resources they need for a good public education. While we were there, we both found a few books that we were interested in, so we purchased them and then took the Metro home.


While my classes and internship haven't started yet, I'm looking forward to it and hope to tell you all more next week!

7 Things I'm Looking Forward To... and 5 Concerns

It's exciting and a little surreal to know that soon I'll be leaving MN. Like many people before an adventure, I'm excited about some things and nervous about others.

Here's what I'm excited about:

• I can't wait to meet my 3 roommates in person at last!
• The opportunity to be more independent.
• I'm looking forward to cooking my own food.
• This will be my first time living in an apartment.
• I'll get the chance to visit places that I didn't have the opportunity to go to the last time I was in Washington D.C. (which was in July 2012).
• Four days a week I'll get to work in the field I want to go into on something that I'm interested in and passionate about.
• The chance to see how God will move in this chapter of my life.

Here are my concerns:

• I might get lost trying to use the Metro.
• I may suffer from sticker shock since prices are lower in the Midwest in comparison to the East Coast.
• What if I unintentionally break my promises when it comes to keeping in touch with my friends back home?
• What if I fall behind on my blog because I'm having too much fun away from home (of which I'm not sure there is such a thing) or get too distracted by my internship duties and homework?
• What if my expectations for this experience are too high?

This is my last post from MN for the time being. Next week there will be news about the road trip and orientation. Have a great week everyone and stay safe!

The Story of How I Got to Where I Soon Will Be

As many of my friends are soon leaving to go to J-term at their respective colleges, whether it's to take a class or prepare to travel internationally for band or choir, or head elsewhere such as Fiji and New Zealand, Tennessee, or the Bahamas for J-term, I think that it may be a good idea to write about how I got to this point in my life. Fair warning, this is a long story.

The first time I heard about the Washington Internship Institute (the organization responsible for the program I will be a part of) was when I was a freshman and went to the Study Abroad Fair. At the time I pursued a double-major in Political Science and Music, so while the idea of spending a semester in Washington D.C. sounded cool to me, I knew that realistically I wouldn't be able to participate in the program and still graduate college in three and a half years like I intended. So I let the idea go and didn't think about it for a while.

Over the summer before sophomore year there was a lot of thinking about whether or not I was supposed to be a Music major, especially since I was rejected in my first attempt to enter into the Music major program. I was torn. While I was great at music theory, did well in my skill checks, had a great time with my composition project at the end of freshmen year, and do love music, my performance assessment on flute, my primary instrument, didn't go as well as I hoped since I get nervous when I play flute in public by myself. Also, it probably didn't help that I never had private flute lessons until college. Part of me wanted to try again with the second performance assessment, but at the same time part of me was afraid to fail again. By the end of the summer I still hadn't come to a resolution.

However, that all changed within the first week of sophomore year. As I read the syllabus for Music Theory III in my dorm after class, I took notice about all of the different forms of music that my classmates and I would learn about. Something about it made me feel ill at ease. Also, since I'm an over-analyzer, I wondered if by learning all of those concepts would cause me to analyze my music as I play it, which would in turn cause me to lose my enjoyment of music. After a lot of thinking, praying, and talking to a few friends about the matter, I dropped Music Theory III before the end of the first week of class. I still have the passion for music as well as sing and play flute and piano, it's just that the path of a Music major wasn't the best way for me to live out my passion. By becoming a Music minor, my three and a half year plan (instead of the typical four year plan for college) had more freedom.

I suddenly realized that now I could spend a semester in Washington D.C., and I already had a sense of when would be a good time to go. As a person in choir, there was no way that I wanted to miss Christmas in Christ Chapel. Also, more of the fall semester classes caught my eye than spring. After I talked to a couple friends, I decided to apply to study abroad for Spring 2015. Once I submitted my application though, I knew that the Study Abroad Program at Gustavus wanted to have a more even distribution of students going abroad in fall and spring and since more people request to go abroad in the spring than in the fall, I knew there was going to be some people who wouldn't be allowed to go in the spring but be requested that they go in the fall. I hoped and prayed that I would not be one of the people who would be asked to change my plans. After a long wait, I received an e-mail which stated that I was allowed to study abroad for Spring 2015.

This last summer, part of my time was dedicated to applying to the Washington Internship Institute. There was a two-step acceptance process, and the second step required recommendation letters from a couple of my professors. However, in my haste to get the application process done and over with early, I had applied at a point in time where my professors weren't checking their e-mails as much because they were enjoying their own summers. As the deadline approached for the letters to come in, I started to worry since I hadn't heard anything from the professors I originally messaged, so I sent requests for recommendation letters to a few more professors. I wondered what would happen if the letters didn't come in time, so I messaged one of the coordinators of the Washington Internship Institute about my concerns. With a few days to spare, I finally heard back from my professors and the required recommendation letters came in on time. However, this was not the last of my obstacles.

Last semester, with the help of my intern advisers of the Washington Internship Institute, I applied to many different organizations that caught my interest in the hopes that I could be their intern. I submitted many cover letters and resumes, but there was a long period of silence. The lack of responses was so long that I worried I wasn't good enough to be an intern anywhere in D.C., that maybe I incorrectly perceived what God's will was for me. I had come so far already... were all of my efforts in vain? Eventually I got a few certain nos, which gave me a bit of closure in that God didn't want me to intern for those organizations. My intern advisers warned me that organizations don't always think ahead for spring interns because Thanksgiving messes things up and then they have an "oh shoot" moment where they realize that they still need interns for the next semester. I didn't have any phone interviews until December and I was finally place in my internship during finals week.

I confess that when sometimes people bring up discouraging truths to me, I feel like it means that they don't fully support me in my endeavors. For example, my brother will graduate high school the same year that I will graduate from Gustavus and I've been warned by my parents that since the graduation dates would be kind of close, there would be a chance that they wouldn't attend my graduation. I could of moved up my graduation though, for before I submitted my application to study abroad, I knew that I had the potential to graduate in three years due to me taking more than four credits' worth of classes every semester. However, by now I have come to know many of my classmates of 2016 and to me it would feel wrong to not graduate with the same class that I entered in as. If Gustavus took 3's as AP credit, which would have made me enter Gustavus as a sophomore and not a half-freshman half-sophomore, it would be a different story. Also, there are still things I want to do before I graduate, such as go traying and have a senior recital that would involve both flute playing and singing. I wouldn't have felt as prepared to work in politics either without some sort of internship opportunity. I remember last summer I had a conversation with my neighbor across the street about this, and she told me that it would be too soon if I were to graduate a full year early, which made me feel glad for her support. Hence, I am a member of the class of 2016.

I know that Washington D.C. has a high crime rate as I've been told by many people and the media. I'm aware that I need to watch my back otherwise I could end up a victim. However, I also know that God has kept me alive for the past 21 years and kept me safe, so I know that he will be protecting me too.

So here I am now, with just a couple weeks before my semester begins. I admit that I have things that I'm looking forward to as well as fears, but I'll reveal what those are next Friday.