Goodbye DC

So I have some crazy, unbelievable news to share: I got fired from my internship, under disputed circumstances.  That’s right: fired from my unpaid internship four weeks before it was scheduled to end.

The exact reasons for the termination were never made completely clear to me, but I suspect politics played a significant role and that’s all I’m going to say about it here.  If you want to know more, please contact me privately.

Fortunately, the Washington Seminar people have agreed to let me get credit for my academic work–which means that I’ll be able to graduate.  I’ve been sent home early, but I can still pass the class with a C/C-.

Oh well.  In some ways, this kind of sucks, but in other ways, it’s a blessing in disguise.  I learned everything that I needed to learn from my internship: that I don’t want to pursue a career in government or policy making.

Government work is long, hard, and very intensive.  It also involves office politics, sitting behind a desk, and fighting entrenched bureaucracies.  It’s not the kind of career that allows time for family, let alone writing.  And the payoff?  The common refrain I heard was that the work was “interesting.” Not “meaningful,” “life-changing,” “personally enriching,” or any of that–just “interesting.”

Nope.  Not for me.

I also learned that the kind of people who are attracted to Washington DC are not the kind of people I feel very comfortable around.  Generally speaking, Washington DC tends to attract people who are ambitious, self-absorbed, arrogant, loud, poor listeners, opinionated, and oblivious of the people around them.  This certainly wasn’t true of everyone, both at the institute and at the Barlow center, but I found they were the exceptions to the rule.

I will say a few positive things, though.  DC has some excellent museums and monuments–the best of any I’ve seen anywhere else.  In particular, I found the FDR memorial, the Portrait Gallery, and the science and innovation exhibit at the American History Museum particularly moving.

In terms of people, ironically, the ones that struck me as most sincere and genuine were all politicians.  In particular, I was struck by Congressman Matheson and Senator Bennett.  I’m not sure if I would vote for either of them–it depends on their stance on the issues–but they both struck me as intelligent, well meaning, good people.

I will also say that my respect for the military went up significantly.  After hearing so many people spout of so much self-important hot air about this or that political issue, it was remarkably refreshing to see people who were willing to put their lives on the line for their country.  To any servicemen reading this, thank you for all you do.  I have nothing but the deepest respect and admiration for you.

My experience in the Barlow center was generally quite positive.  I had an excellent roommate and made quite a few friends.  I’m sorry if I seemed kind of aloof most of the time–it’s probably because I was miserable for other reasons and didn’t realize it.  I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again back in Provo.

So, what’s the plan now?  Finish the academic side of things ASAP, then head back to Utah.  I’ve got a lot of old friends I want to catch up with before the summer, not to mention the last couple English 318 classes.  That’s one thing I sorely missed this semester–English 318.  Beyond that, I don’t quite know–a lot of things are still in the air.  I’m confident, however, that whatever happens, it will be for the best.