Lessons in Faking Adulthood

Here in DC, we're on week three of our Rock the Vote experience. Last week and especially the week before were centered around the release of Rock the Vote's report card of the fifty states and their voter registration practices. Things are starting to pick up now as we settle into our individual roles. There are six of us and five Rock the Vote staff members in the office. Obviously, this is the perfect equation for a mutiny. Rather than plan intern revolt, we’ve been learning a ton from each of our bosses. Each intern is assigned a job and a boss who specializes in the field. For example, I am the marketing intern and I work for the V.P. of Marketing and Communications. We are learning from and about our bosses, and are benefiting from the one-on-one experience. Rock the Vote does not believe in busy work because they do not have the time nor number of staffers to give us menial jobs. We get to work on big projects and are already happily seeing the payoff from our labor.

One especially cool part of this job is getting to play grown-up. We have deadlines, lunch breaks and weekly staff meetings. Our group also pledged daily gym trips – so post work (from 9am-6pm), we head over to Fitness First and have Becca train us in weights. Clearly, we’ll be in top fencing shape with guns of steel by the end of this trip. Now, I totally get why my parents are in bed by 10pm every night. By the time we work, get home from the gym and make/get dinner, I’m exhausted. Seriously, muy cansado. (Major DC Problems - yes, we are still cranking out Inside Jokes like it's our job) Despite the fact that staying up late during the weekend meant a Friday bedtime of 11:30pm (I know, we’re rebels), I'd like to think we’re having a pretty great time. Our tight knit family is a support group. We hold each other accountable (especially if one of us accidentally sleeps in) and challenge each other to try new things. For example, we were all pretty tired last night but we had planned on seeing the monuments at night. While we could have stayed home and slept, we decided to go.

Sight seeing in DC has been one of the most rewarding experiences. This city is full of history and we are actively trying to learn as much as possible about it. Honestly, the Washington National Monument was breathtaking at night, the World War II memorial was touching, the monkeys at the Zoo are adorable, the Capitol Building is full of rich history (the inside mural took multiple painters – one was fired after painting his own face in a tree and another quit after almost falling) and the Lincoln Memorial is much bigger than you’d think. Here are some pictures of our trip so far!