Experience Journal Numero Dos

I successfully made it through my second week in the wilderness - without being eaten, drowning, or falling off the cliff of one of the many surrounding mountains. Last week, I was a little doubtful I’d make it this far. Now, I feel like a real-life Indiana Jones, minus the sidekick.

After spending my first week going through (literally) a few thousand biographies of our fabulously entertaining State Legislatures, I have officially been allowed to move on to members of our U.S. House and Senate. Comparatively, it’s thrilling. In the scheme of life, probably not so much. I’m not complaining though. After intently researching everyone from Iowa's State Legislature, I was starting to have my doubts about the capabilities of those we trust with our government. It’s really refreshing to find that when you enter the national level, it’s a whole different, more advanced arena.

During the time I’ve spent focusing on these political superstars, I’ve realized that I pretty much qualify as a huge nerd. I get so excited when I’m on some of their sites that I will spend an hour doing nothing but reading up on their past accomplishments, current position, and future goals. I always knew I had nerdish tendencies (my desire to knit and habit of listening to NPR are proof), but, while here, I think I’ve pretty much confirmed that I am 100% nerd. (Don’t worry though; I’m not even half as nerdy as the kid who got 2 points higher than the national LSAT average…when he was in eighth grade.)

According to my supervisor, she's working on putting together a "special project" for me. It's making me nervous. I need to stop going through these biographies so quickly. A "special project" could go either way. I could learn something new and enjoy every second; I could also be stuck doing something like entering statistical data on the voter demographics of every county in North Dakota.

One of my favorite things about being here is hearing different perspective from everyone. There are about 30 interns right now, and we are from all over the country. I’ve never heard so many different viewpoints from so many different people who are the same age. A lot of the conversations are absolutely enthralling. The only time people aren’t talking is when we’re hiking in an altitude too high for breathing and speaking to both occur in the same sentences.

On a side note, I did the most ridiculous thing ever on Sunday. After crawling out of bed (I was so sore from hiking up 7,600 ft the previous day that it took around 10 minutes to stand up), I drove almost two hours to see my new, all-time favorite movie on its opening weekend. In case there was question in anyone’s mind, however, it was totally worth it. Aftereffects of this particular movie include my current, perpetual smile.