For what it's worth, it was worth all the while

Instead of sleeping it seems only appropriate I blog. I doubt many other people will care but I need to contemplate what Marquette has meant to me, and it has meant a lot more that 140 characters. I could do a Tom Crean, but I think the friends that follow me on their phones would not appreciate it so here I am.

4 years ago if you had told me what I would accomplish at Marquette I probably would have said you were crazy. No way was I not graduating with a Theology degree. Nor would I have fallen head over heals for politics. Let alone for the city of Milwaukee. Heck, I was still struggling to believe I had condemned myself to the state of Wisconsin- and I was certain as soon as I had the chance I would be right back in Farmington Hills. Now don't get me wrong, I miss the hills daily. I miss high school, I miss my friend, my family, my pool, and if I had a dog I'd even miss that. But this place stole my heart.

The way Harry Potter feels about Hogwarts is the best way to describe it. And honestly it's only the start of my feelings for this place, for these people. I can be stuck in Marquette Place at midnight, singing in Chapel of the Holy Family, screaming my lungs out at a basketball game, walking down Wisconsin Avenue in the -20 degree weather, or giving a tour on the most beautiful day and my love remains constant. Constant and strong.

Arrive as you are. Depart transformed. That is the sign I passed at the airport every time I went home. And let me tell you, the school delivered on its promise. It turned me into the woman I hoped to become. Some may disagree, but I believe I am a woman for others. I care for the whole person, live my life AMDG, and my faith is constantly seeking justice. I wanted a school that would be hard to leave- well be careful what you ask for... I got it. But I also wanted a school that I would be INSANELY proud to say I attended. Well, you better believe that I will tell the whole world I attended Marquette.

Someone told me today that out of everyone they know I am the most likely to have a building some day named after me at this university (he also believes I will marry rich and when my husband passes is when I do it). Now I'm not actually expecting to have a Rory Gilmore style conservatory but I will tell you this. This school will never leave my thoughts, my prayers, my mind, or my heart. And if I ever got the chance I would absolutely be donating a building (or tunnels) back to this place.

I was taught how to think. I am leaving with far more questions than answers about life, social justice, and ethics but that is fine because I know I have every tool necessary to move forward. I will continue to ask the hard questions, and probably begin to see in even more shades of grey and I will not shy away from it.

Thank you Marquette, for everything. It has been quite the ride. I had some high, high expectations about this place- each and every one was surpassed. This place really is the dearest friend to all. And to all of you who made it great, thank you as well. Marquette is so much about the people, the most passionate and compassionate I have ever met.

Goodbye love, goodbye

I sit here, a million memories swarming through my mind. Two packed bags and a fridge still waiting to be cleaned out. This summer has been an experience to say the least. To say the most, which is absolutely what it deserves, is to say it changed my life. If every second changes us, and every new experience changes us even more so, than I have a ton of accumulated moments of life changing moments. In a way it does not even seem possible that I am separated from my last final paper of junior year by 3 months time. On the other hand, it seems like a million years ago that I had anything that was a relatively normal day-to-day schedule of a college student.

To take London out of this equation would be unfair, but since this is my last night in Washington, D.C. a city that stole my heart like no where has ever done before (HIGH praise from me, just look at my twitter bio) it seems only fitting that it gets the majority of the play time here.

I have amassed a list of true life moments that have occurred over the last 3 months. Here is my view of the world, take it for what it is from a person who puts emphasis on some really crazy things in life.

I have discovered 2 Cents worth (if you're sick of textsfromlastnight.com give it a whirl). They're priceless.

I have a knack for living out of suitcases, in fact part of me feels like it should go on my resume.

I've written approximately 427 more cover letters.

I know a bottle of shampoo lasts exactly 7 weeks.

I officially must accept that "What are your plans after gradaution?" is a totally legitimate question.

A $20 straightener will start smoking after 3 years of service. It may actually know that you're looking into getting a new one and decide it will leave you before you leave it.

Knowledge that 1 is not a prime number, and that i have friends dorky enough to debate the primeness of 1 as well as a mother willing to google it.

I have somewhat rotten luck with public metro transportation, making me feel very lucky I am from detroit.

I know a lot about foreign policy and internation pr now... i am sensing a trend.

I apperantly "sound old"

I have an excellent relationship with Alex Perts.

I have no tan of which to speak.

Oliver Wood and Oliver North are NOT the same person.

I know a lot about agriculture issues, my personal favorite is the Conservation Stewardship Program.

9-6 work days are a lot longer than 9-5 work days.

I've experienced recess over the age of 12.

Lots and lots of new friends :)

I saw 10 musicals in 3 months.

A Marquette Twitter Triva Tuesday Victory.

No fear of living in a building with no elevator, bring it health and wellness!

103 days closer to being 21. (In fact it is exactly 2 months away!!)

I have several more gray hairs.

I am in love with Obama's Speechwriter, Jon Favreau.

A much clearer direction for my life, despite the 328 new ideas i got from dr. frietag in london i think i have finally found my number 1 dream, in only took 2 majors and roughly 18 years.

Interning in d.c. has been one of the best things i have ever done. I was so nervous going in for one reason: I had been dreaming about this since freshman year and therefore my expectations were very high. Not only were my expectations met, they were surpassed.

This has been a phenomenal summer, a good last regular school's-out-for-summer summer. And now loyal followers, the time has come to say goodbye. I hope you have enjoyed my blog as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Good Night, and Good Luck.

"I really hope I don't meet Michelle Obama today, my outfit is not up to her standards"

My final weekend in this fabulous city has come to a close. Naturally, instead of studying I have decided to write a blog post.

This week at work was peaceful in comparison to the past weeks of being in-session. My downtime has been filled with the hunt for an internship- I have another interview so fingers crossed people! I also now have an immense knowledge of the iowa state fair if anyone is interested.

On thursday Sarah and I ventured to the holocaust museum. Of course it was a moving experience but I was not as impressed as I thought I would be by the exhibit.

Then we took a true pilgrimage to the Thomas Jefferson memorial.


I am a pretty big fan of TJ

Friday night, Sarah, Katy and I went to The Time Traveller's Wife (we've been waiting for this since the beginning of july, so it was a pretty big deal). A very touching movie over all I would say, lived up to us watching the trailer approxiately 734 times amongst the three of us.

Then on Saturday, Katy and I ventured to Arlington. The cost of freedom has never been so evident to me. Seeing JFK's burial site was incredibly moving. I could not stop thinking about how much I know he loves this view.

Today, at mass the priest told us about how he knew Eunice Kennedy (gotta love east coast connections) and how he went to her funeral. He shared with us advice she had told him many times as whe was growing up: "Don't worry about who you're seated next to at a dinner party, every person has an interesting story to tell, it's your job to find it out." One more reason to love the Kennedys.

This afternoon I ventured around Eastern market one last time. And then I went to the white house with Sarah. We've made a deal we will give one another positions in our administrations.


My future house^ :)

and this is the lasting image of america i will have:
insane mob of people taking pix of the white house. God bless America.

Then, Sarah and I feeling particularly patriotic decided that we should, in honor of our president, go to Five Guys. I had already done some preparation by looking up the one closest to the white house. But alas, it was closed after 5... apperantly I'm back in milwaukee already. Instead, all in the pursuit of a burger we ended up at Fudruckers. A good second choice, and per usual for the two of us a crazy adventure.

I should I suppose explain my post title before I bid you adue. I was wearing a cute dress today, but not an Obama-j.crew worthy dress, and I was worried I would not accurately represent myself to Mrs. Obama. Fortuantely (or perhaps unfortuantely) I did not meet her sitting on the lawn.

Also, (in my opion at least) beautiful op-ed regarding health insureance reform by Barack Obama.

Here's to pearls, lumen gentium, branding, and recess (confessions of a major dork)

I am rapidly approaching the end of my time here. This experience has been incredible, there's a lot to be said for walking past the Supreme Court on the way to work every day. But a retrospective will be coming in a week or so, but right now let me catch up on what I have been doing since my last post.

Last week the race to the finish line for the senate. If you haven't heard (which I sincerely hope you have) on Thursday night they confirmed Sotomayor as a supreme court justice in a bipartisan vote and she was sworn in (right down the street from me) on Saturday. The senate also gave more money to CARS aka Cash for Clunkers. In addition to witnessing these events and the insanity that is preparing to go back home and talk about health care I also got to sit on the senate floor for awhile and watch the magic and witnessed 'press time' which is when a member of congress does a call or two with reporters from home and they get to ask questions to use in stories, and get sound clips for radio. As a total PR nerd I loved it.

Kathy also came to visit this weekend. We went to the American History Smithsonian. I fulfilled my life long dream to see JACQUELINE KENNEDY'S PEARLS!!!!! And also in the exhibit I learned what my future roles as First Lady will be: campaigner, hostess, public advocate, and public face. Basically all of my favorite things.

There was also a wall dedicated to how a First Lady donating a dress to the collection became a staged media event to promote the First Lady and the Smithsonian (combining all things that I love).

I also saw Julia Child's kitchen and Dorothy's ruby slippers and a few Stratvarius violins.

Fun fact: Polo Ralph Lauren sponsors the showcase of the Star-Spangled Banner... can you say perfect name placement for a company that brands itself as the definition of American style!

I also ventured to eastern market, another thing I will really miss about this city.

On Sunday, several other people and I went to Catholic University of America for mass at the Basillica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. I had been there before, but it is always a great time. After mass we went on a tour. My favorite facts: 1. The back wall of the church has artwork inspired by Lumen Gentium, my fave VII document 2.The Society of Jesus donated the portion of the church where the Joyful mysteries of the Rosary are depicted (my fave order and my fave mysteries!!)

This week is my last full week here. In fact at this time next week I will probably be packing and crying. Recess is now in full swing. Basically that means we can wear jeans (it's seriously like having a free dress day at a catholic school) and get out at 5 so I can watch gilmore girls (hey, it's the simple things in life!).

I'll try to add some photos later... currently the internet is a little too weak to do so.

Also *WITH AN OPEN MIND* take a look at the new website the White House has put together to help Americans understand Health Care reform. Despite popular belief we are NOT going to a socialized single-payer plan like Canada. And these changes will help everyone, but if you like your health care you're not going to have switch providers. http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/ And obama did a great job at his town hall describing health care reform today, so if you missed it be sure to find some clips online.

20% of Americans can name all 5 members of The Simpsons Family, only 3% can name the 5 rights promised to us in the First Amendment

Can you name all 5?  

This weekend my parents came to visit and a major part of their visit was spent at the Newseum.  Now, I have seen a lot of museums in my life, in fact possibly over a dozen just in the past two months and this by far has surpassed every other.  Sure I loved seeing the Mona Lisa and the Rosetta Stone but nothing means more to me than the news.  As a PR major, I am told repeatedly that if I want to succeed I have to be obsessive about the news.  As a college student, it's not easy to do.  Even harder, unlike other subjects, it required continuous diligence, not just 16 weeks of study.  What I love most about the news, is just like the weather it is something everyone has in common. 

We started the day (well after being nourished by Corner Bakery :)) by watching an orientation video on the Newseum.  It framed the whole experience fantastically by classifying what we find to be news.  

We then witnessed part of the berlin wall, an INCREDIBLE sight.  It was amazing to see because I know so many people never thought it would come down in their lifetimes, and it did.  I think in some ways it is proof that anything is possible.

Then we took the world's largest hydraulic elevators up to the 6th floor.  There we saw pictures from Fotobama (thank goodness he won... fotmccain just isn't very clever).  They had amateur and professional winners. personal favorite, with michelle and her j.crew gloves:

There is also an astonishing view of the Capitol building (NOT the white house, stupid dc interns)

I also saw THE watergate door

AND THE 'FLORIDA! FLORIDA! FLORIDA!' whiteboard of the late, great Tim Russert

They also had one of my favorite newspaper headlines of all time on display... this is great because the paper was wrong (the original Bush being called by one news source and Gore being called by another).

Oh, and if you haven't recalled all five yet and still haven't googled it: press, speech, religion, petition and assembly.

We the people, in order to form a more perfect union

I simply cannot believe that I am over half way done being here.  In fact if this were London, I'd be home right now.  The funniest part is by the end of London I was ready to go home, but here I am dreading leaving (maybe it's because of the fate that lies in moving into the 4th floor apartment with no elevator or starting my final year at marquette, but I think it's more than that).  If I had to pick the thing I love most about D.C. I wouldn't be able to do it.  Instead I would stand paralyzed trying to find words, just like I do when asked about what my favorite part of MU is.  How can words ever describe such perfect places?

But I will say that saturday may be one of those reasons I can point to regarding why I loved the district of columbia:

I journeyed to the archives, and patriotically stood in line in the ridiculous heat to behold the documents that founded this nation.  First, we saw the Articles of Confederation (!!!!!!) which have finally been put on display in full.  While they no longer run our country, and basically failed in doing so I think they hold an important part of our past.  We were new and trying to figure out how this type of government would work.  Have you ever created a government?  How about one that has never had any foundation before? To reject the idea of the parliamentary system was pretty darn radical.  Then it was time for the big show, after pausing at the Magna Carta (well not the magna carta , because there are a few legit copies) I again stood in line to behold the Declaration of Independence, Constitution and Bill of Rights.  It was crazy to think that a document with less than 5000 words set up the basis for our country.  And the declaration of independence has less that 1500. That would not even meet many word counts I have been required to meet for papers in college.  And yet, true public relations practitioners that our founding fathers were they made it count.  And then secured us some excellent rights through the first ten amendments.  

There is also a very cool exhibit in the archives that shows a lot of different parts of the artifacts of our nation, including pictures of presidents as children (sooo cute).  All in all well worth the line.

After being inspired by the Founding Fathers, my group and I decided to find a place to eat dinner and we stumbled upon this awesome restaurant.  

On Sunday, I went to spring awakening (yes, again) with my roommate sarah.  She loved it, which made me so happy and wanted to dissect the meaning of it with me after the show, making it even better.

Tuesday night I went to Virginia to the Pentagon City mall.  May I just say that if there is in fact a recession you would have never know it by being in there.  Great to be in a state for a little while, and nothing better than 20% of gap on tuesdays.

Work this week has been pretty standard.  Today, was the classic Les Aspin picture of the Capitol Steps with Gwen Moore.  Great woman.  She talked to us about how she grew up at 14 & Highland, and told us about how marquette's EOP program not only made it possible for her to attend college, but also was the first of its kind in the nation.  It does not get any more 'we are marquette' than that.    

Tomorrow my parents come into town!! And it's Harry Potter's birthday AND the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola.  Basically, it's a pretty big day in my life.

When it rains, it pours

Whoever first coined this timeless adage must have lived in Washington, D.C.  For the record, Emily Hunter was not exaggerating when she warned me of the D.C.'s crazy tendency to have torrential downpours one minute, and a blue sky the next.

Where this all started: me, deciding that it was high time i took advantage of shopping in georgetown.  And what better incentive than a thursday afternoon free, and a sale going on at the gap?  Furthermore, I was going through J. Crew withdrawal.  So why not?  Sure I knew it had been raining on the mall all morning, and therefore this could be a bit risky, but what is life without a little risk anyway, right?

So my roommate Sarah and I decide to set out on this adventure after being nourished by Good Stuff Eatery and a classroom discussion on Vietnam.  We take the blue line to Foggy Bottom... everything is going along swimmingly until we get to the escalators leading to the outside.  Behold, the great flood.  One that rivaled the two other largest rains I have ever experienced that were inescapable (the first in grade school at Country Day when I was cheerleading at a football game.  the second on a saturday in april when i kindly volunteered to fill-in for a fellow tour guide, no good deed goes unpunished).  Sarah and I debate the next move... we had come this far.  So close to the georgetown we can taste it.  And let's not forget the $1.25 cost of traveling.  We decide to go on, nothing can stop my love for j.crew (particularly in prep capital of the world).  We determine there is a bus stop just across the street, surely there will be a covered structure.  So we bravely step onto the escalator and prepare to face our fate.  It was basically like riding into a shower.  Instantly we are soaked (did i mention i was wearing a light yellow shirt?).  We forge the river that is 23rd Street.  There was almost a causality, Sarah's flip flop.  It was rescued seconds before being taken with the current into the rain sewer.  Lo and behold, no glass enclosure in sight, so we take refuge under a tree.  Within 30 seconds a bus comes, and thank goodness it was headed to the beloved neighborhood of georgetown.  We hop on, and the bus driver kindly tells us we don't have to pay.  He also informs us we should perhaps cover up because we were soaked to the point that we would win a wet t-shirt contest on spring break. (thats second half were my words, not his by the way).  Also, fyi he was exaggerating, he could see my tank top, nothing more.   

We decide to get off when we see that beautiful navy blue square with white letters, and make our way across the street and into the sanctuary of the gap. In the meantime, of course the heavens open and the sun comes out.  Not a single cloud in sight.  Some BR, Zara (!!) and J.Crew (complete with a sighting of a real life wedding dress!!!) rounded out the experience. 

Never, ever question my dedication to shopping. period. 

One would think nothing more could go wrong after the adventure of getting to mecca, wrong.  Just as we arrive at the bus stop to take us back to a metro stop I slip and fall (mcts bus style).  

Tonight we are going to the Lewises (they own the wonderful real estate at 4 4th St.) for dinner! I am pumped.