"First Saturday in DC: August 31, 2013"

When I woke up this morning in my DC apartment I had full intentions of going on a tour of the Capitol with two of my suitemates that was being led by the Washington Center, however; after looking at the details of the tour more closely I saw that we were supposed to RSVP if we were going on the tour...whoopsie! (good to know for later TWC events and also you future interns can take note of this) Anyway, we changed plans and made our way to the metro and then to the Pentagon City Mall for a shopping day. I have been looking for a professional looking bigger sized purse, and managed to find one, but the price was a little expensive for a poor college student intern from Texas with no income in one of the most expensive cities ever! Hopefully, I can get the parentals to splurge on the beautiful TCU purple Kate Spade bag I want for my 21st birthday on November 10th, but we shall see;).  I did manage to find a new work dress at my favorite store Francesca's so all in all it was a successful shopping trip!                                                                                         

 

  

 

Now on to the highlight of my day. My sorority sisters are literally my second family, and without them by my side here in DC I have been pretty lost (literally and metaphorically as I am awful with directions and always need my sisters to tell me which way to go). Today is the first day of the College football season for my school the TCU Horned Frogs #purplereign #GOFROGS, and needless to say I am so sad that I won't get to be there this season for any of the games:( My sisters, knowing me so well and being so amazing, sent me cupcakes from my favorite cupcake shop in DC, DC Georgetown Cupcakes! If that wasn't enough, they had the cupcakes decorated with TCU logos and American flags and included the sweetest note ever that said "Hello baby! We're missing you at the game and thought we'd send you a little love! Good luck this week! Ashley, Maddie, Kristin and Katie." Theses girls are without a doubt my closest friends and sisters and the fact that they would spend their money to send me TCU cupcakes and a sweet note means the world to me! I can't wait until I get to see them again and I know they will have so much fun at the games this semester and I will definitely be there in spirit with them cheering on my Horned Frogs!!!  Words can't express how thankful I am not only for this package from them, but also just to have them in my life! I got the best/sweetest present in the world from two of my BEST friends, my LITTLE and the B. DAVIS to my Haley James Scott, I am beyond blessed and I know my suitemates were in awe of the love that I have for these girls and the love they have for me! It's funny how even from so far away, they are still as much a part of my life as ever and that's because they are my sisters and We live for each other!

 

 

                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

 

And now for tonight, I will be cheering on my frogs from either a TCU alumni watch party at a bar somewhere in DC or from the comfort of my own apartment! Either way I will be wearing my purple, yelling for my team and missing my sisters like crazy! Thank you again so much Ashley, Maddie, Kristin and Katie, y'all made me cry(in a good way) and made me feel so special and loved just like I hope y'all know that you are so special to me and loved by me!! Love y'all!!

Until next time y'all. PS GO FROGS BEAT LSU!

 

 

"Orientation Day 2: August 30, 2013"

Well, now that Orientation has come to a close and all of the TWC information has been packed in my head I am relaxing in my new apartment for a bit. Hopefully, I will venture out later  with the suitemates to Pentagon City Mall to use the Metro and also to shop around for a bit for a professional looking purse as I didn't bring one with me. So for the evaluation of today, the Politics and Public Policy program seems like it will be a good fit and I really like all of the people I have met so far in the program. I will definitely be a busy bee this semester, but that'll be a good thing, I'll be doing things I have a passion for and building up my confidence as a professional, even so my heart will still be breaking for all of the TCU football games I will be missing.

On another note, we rearranged the common area furniture last night before watching a movie and now we have even more open space than we had before. Hopefully, we will find a few more decorations or knick-knacks to add to the space to make it more homey. I am excited to start my internship next Tuesday and get this semester started, the class, the internship and the service components should all be interesting, tiring and great experiences. Most of my time here I have felt like I fit in with all of the other political minded thinkers like myself and have loved getting the opportunity to learn more about who I can be in the future, there are some times though when I miss the cowboy boots, amazing Mexican food and the Texas Flags flowing in the air from back home. It is an adjustment but everyday DC and this program are getting more and more exciting so I hope that continues throughout the semester.

               

                                                                         



Until next time y'all!!

"Orientation Day 1: August 29, 2013"

So to start off I would just like to say that the hour time difference makes a world of difference when you have to be up in professional looking clothes by 9am. Today we had official orientation programming from 9-10am and then the rest of the day we had unofficial orientation programming which basically meant we went to the meetings that applied to us. We sat through 4 information sessions about the civic engagement programs and my top two were 1) Veterans and 2) Homeless, so we will see which one I end up with since I already filled out the selection survey.

Oh so my roommate finally showed up late last night, and understandably so as she came from Puerto Rico. Anyway, a fun adventure my roommates and I had today was emailing the maintenance people because our ice machine in our fridge made it start leaking water everywhere...we turned off the machine but word of caution to all of those future interns who think that making ice is a good idea, if you wanna live on the edge I say go ahead and make ice here using your TWC fridge, if you wanna play it safe, say suck it up and just put your drinks in the fridge.
We also decided to venture two blocks down to the Giant today (aka one of the grocery stores here) to get some more groceries because food here is so expensive!! If you are ever thinking of sending me anything while I am here send food please, thank you in advance for saving me from bankruptcy or starvation hahaha, but really food prices are so high here. Also, I have asked my mom to send me a Texas flag for my wall but I have still yet to hear back if that will ever get here to me. The good news is that we are done with programming for the day and we have an ice cream social in the building to get a chance to meet everyone and eat yummy ice cream! So, after this post I am off to eat some ice cream and then relax in my bed for the rest of the night before orientation round 2 tomorrow. Fun Fact: We had a floor meeting last night and got the low down on rules and on the guest policy, aka any of my friends please feel free to come visit me if you can:) (PS I still really miss everyone...)

Anyway, I'm off to enjoy some ice cream so on that note I would just like to give a shout out to my daddy on his birthday today!! Love you daddy! Until, next time y'all!

"Move in Day: August 28, 2013"

So, I have officially moved in to Apartment 116 at the Washington Center Residential Academic Facility (RAF). So far, so good. Move in took all of about an hour for me because the 7 boxes and 2 suitcases I had my parents ship/ bring from the great state of Texas was significantly less than most of the other students. Future interns take note: I am not a light packer but DO NOT bring everything you own with you, it will suck!! My parents were very strict in not letting me bring any of the fantastic decorations that I have used in my TCU rooms, so I decided that I would double the amount of pictures I usually have on the walls to compensate for that: those of you who know me know that this means there are a lot of pictures on my wall currently:)
The kitchen is fully stocked with dishes, cups, pots and pans and the apartment comes complete with washer and dryer and a cute little table for 4. It is 2 bathroom, 2 bedroom apartment for 4 with a walk in closet and a dresser drawer. Currently, I am living with 2 awesome suite mates from Ohio, and it is just little old me in the other room by my lonesome for now....I'll keep everyone posted on whether or not I get a room buddy anytime soon. The area is nice......but I am definitely not in Texas anymore, aka you will not find me walking by myself anywhere anytime soon. I've got groceries thanks to a quick trip to Target with the parentals and now it is time to say good bye since they leave tomorrow and I am busy with orientation for the next two days. I hate goodbyes, and these last two rank as the worst after having to say goodbye to all of my sorority sisters, and my best friend (which I will never get over until we are back in the same state again). So here we go, I am beginning this journey that hopefully will be a great time in my life! It doesn't mean that I don't miss everyone like crazy though...

Until next time y'all.