Since school started and all, I thought it was about time –

What I’ve done this summer:

• Lugged three stuffed suitcases, with the help of my mother and sibling, from Massachusetts to Washington D.C., a brand new city knowing only a handful of people
• Survived Washington’s hottest summer in the city’s history – 25 days (and now up to 50 days since I’ve left) of sweltering 90+ degree temperatures
• Rode bikes through Georgetown’s Waterfront with my sibling on my first night in the city
• Lived in a college apartment with two other student interns and no income
• Interned at Voice of America full-time, working 40 hours a week
• Saw the capitol’s Memorial Day parade
• Spent time learning and educating myself at twelve different Smithsonian museums, not including the Newseum and the National Zoo – my two most favorite locations
• Attended various protests and demonstrations in the nation’s capitol, where free speech is advocated and respected; the March on Washington for AIDS, multiple AIDS/HIV marches, an Occupy anti-fracking protest
• Saw Al Sharpton, Wyclef, Ben Taylor, a member of the Jackson clan, a Nick Kristof lookalike
• Worked an eight-day work week
• Became accustomed to Washington’s Metro system
• Flew out to Arizona for a short weekend attending the AG Bell conference to speak at two sessions, spend time with my mother and catch up with old (and new) friends
• Went to the Capitol’s Fourth of July concert rehearsal to only have it end early for a severe thunderstorm warning
• Walked through Watergate
• Long dinners out in Georgetown with friends
• Mingled among working journalists in a journalism meetup at the National Press Club in Washington D.C.
• Went to a Nationals Game and watched them win!
• Worked an entire weekend covering the Egypt elections curating and live reporting poll updates, protests, gatherings and election results with VOA and on my own
• Saw the nation’s capital’s Fourth of July parade on Constitutional Avenue
• Rode paddle boats with two of my closest friends in Washington D.C.’s Tidal Basin
• Had dinner on the National Mall on the Fourth of July with thousands of other people watching the Capitol’s fireworks with the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial in sight
• Ran through the water fountain on the Georgetown Waterfront
• Went on a reporting trip to the Gallup Organization’s headquarters with a VOA reporter
• Rode the second longest escalator in the world, or something like that
• Was a member of the audience at the World Jump Rope Championship held at a gym on George Washington University’s campus
• Got two pieces published, watched an international radio news broadcast in action, and had my own desk space in the middle of a newsroom
• Experienced DC’s nightlife
• Put my feet in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden’s fountain
• Bid farewell to DC and traveled back home for 6 days for family time, back to back appointments and to quickly pack everything back up for my trip to New York for school
• A quick day trip to Ogunquit, Maine resulting in a massive sunburn
• Survived my second year of RA training

I’m so glad to have had the opportunity to spend a summer in a brand new city, especially Washington D.C. and it being on my list of cities to live in sometime in my life, and to intern at such an esteemed and well-known news organization. I was able to gain a lot of confidence, experience and learn more about myself during this summer.

And now I’m back in New York!

I’ll leave you with a few favorite photos: