To be honest, I didn’t really want to write my “final” blog post for msokengoestowashington. Because that would mean summer is officially over. But for some reason, writing about my amazing summer sounds a lot better than packing up for school. (I started this the day I got home… yet it is two weeks into school and I am just finishing it now)
Instead of reminiscing about what a great summer I had and being super mushy or whatnot, I am going to write about the top ten things I learned during the summer.
10. You stand on the right and walk on the left.
This is the most important rule when on the escalators on the metro. Not like I got to use this rule a lot, since half the time, the escalators never worked anyways. But when they did work, it was of the utmost importance that, when using an escalator, you stood on the right, and walked, or in some people’s cases, ran on the right. If you don’t stand on the right, you will get run over. After about four days in Washington DC, I found myself irritated at the tourists who would stand on the left. This is probably the most important thing to know while in DC. Except for maybe knowing what the president looks like.
9. Cross the light when everyone else does.
The crossing lights in D.C. never change on time. They are delayed by at least a half minute and if you don’t know that, you will eventually waste at least ten minutes of your life waiting for the lights to change. Also, the timing on the lights is screwy. You have like 50 seconds to cross a road that will take you five minutes, or you have 20 seconds to cross a road that will take minutes. But remember, this isn’t New York, so people do cross at the lights.
8. The Metro is always delayed.
…And the red line never works. Especially when they are doing construction on the weekends. So always expect delays and non-working to occur. Especially if you receive text updates from them. Their website won’t work and then they will send you texts and emails even after you have been removed from their list. I absolutely love metro since it is typically clean, but you will be frustrated with it half the time.
7. Congressman are “real” people too.
When I was with a friend from camp, we went to the Capitol. So I was taking a picture of her in front of it and all these congressmen came out from the “members only” entrance. This one guy tried to give her bunny ears when I was taking her picture. And then one guy asked us if he could take our picture in front of it. As well, I met a few Congressman and they all have hopes and dreams and fears, just like everybody else. They mess up occasionally too. So does everybody. Even though they are in the public eye, they are humans.
6. People in D.C. love cupcakes.
There are a ton of cupcake places in D.C. Georgetown Cupcakes, Baked&Wired and Curbside Cupcakes, just to name a few. We went to at least five cupcake places throughout our time in D.C. I don’t know exactly what the obsession is with cupcakes. But that may be because I don’t particularly like frosting. I just want the cake part. So if you go to D.C., make sure to get a cupcake! I’d recommend Baked&Wired, but something you have to experience is waiting in line for Georgetown Cupcakes. They aren’t as good as Baked&Wired in my opinion, but it’s still something you must experience.
5. People actually do listen to what the President says.
During the debt crisis, the President gave an address to the nation. During this address, he told the nation to call their congressperson and tell them how they feel about the issue. To be honest, even though I am intensely interested in politics, I had never called my Congresswoman to express my feelings on an issue. But the phone server broke down in Rayburn because too many people were calling. We also got like 300 emails from constituents in one day. This really restored my faith in the American people because sometimes it feels on my college campus that people are apathetic.
4. Read.
Reading will get you far in life. Memory, imagination and reason were how Thomas Jefferson sorted his books. He tried to read a new book or learn something new every day. Every single day I read CNN to try to keep up with what was going on, as well as the New York Times. You learn so much from reading. I had to read the metro signs when I got on the wrong train to figure out which way to go (two times in one week of course). I had to read to keep up with what bill we were on during the debt ceiling crisis. Reading gets you far. You can become more educated by reading…your congressman most likely reads stories from the local newspapers every day. So you should too.
3. Don’t let life pass you by.
Sometimes you just need to say “yes” to trying new things. In D.C, I’m pretty sure whenever someone asked me if I wanted to do something fun, I almost always said yes. “Want to go to Third-Eye Blind?” “Want to go on a boat?” “Want to come with us to the museum?” I met so many great people and had so many amazing adventures by just saying “yes.” You can’t really experience a city to its fullest by saying “no.” This also applied at my internship. “Hey Alicia, can you cover this for me?” I learned I had an interest in veterans’ affairs and space. If I had said no to anything, I wouldn’t have experienced as much as I did and learned as much as I had.
2. Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Or in my case, don’t judge a person before you’ve gotten to know them. I have the really awful habit of judging people before I meet them. Strange clothes, dyed hair, acting like a total tool… I could never be friends with that person. To be honest though, I will still be friendly, but my first initial reaction in my head will always be “I could never be friends with that person.” This is what I thought when I first met some of the people I made the most memories with. They say that first impressions are everything. To be honest, I would say your last impression means everything. I was able to get through my first thoughts about the people I now consider my close friends, and actually get to know them. It’s your last impression that matters so make it count.
1. I am going to live in DC one day.
The title says it all.
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