The Week Before

It’s hard to believe that this week I’ll be starting my internship at National Geographic Television. Real Life. The last week of the class for the DC Summer Institute passed by in absolutely no time, as did my extended weekend home due to Memorial Day. For the longest it has felt as if the first day of my internship was ages away and suddenly it has snuck up on me and I suspect it feels the same for the other DC summer institute fellows.

The second week of the class was just as fast-paced and fascinating as the first. We visited The Library of Congress’ Audio and Visual Conservation, American Film Institutes’ Silver Theatre, The Newseum, Discovery Communications, and the National Gallery as well as a visit from our special guest speaker, Governor Kaine on Friday morning for all of the institutes. After Governor Kaine’s short but amusing pep talk we went through a crash course on what to do and what not to do for our internships this summer; including topics ranging from how to interact with our employees, how to stand out from the other interns and how to dress appropriately (FYI NEVER wear flip flops.) Then the rest of the afternoon was spent playing a rousing game of kickball in the sweltering sun. Every institute was encouraged to play as were the professors and everyone in the William & Mary DC office. Choosing to sit this particular game out in part because of the insane heat and my sorely lacking skills in kickball, I instead acted as unofficial photographer. I got some fantastic shots and learned that sports photography could potentially be a contingency plan if my career in television and film doesn’t quite pan out.

After spending well over 2 hours out in the hot sun, the institutes were free to disperse and go enjoy their long Memorial Day weekends which for me meant heading over to Union Station to catch a 4-hour bus ride back home. I arrived around one in the morning, disheveled and desperately longing for my full-sized bed back home. When I finally was able to collapse on my bed, it felt as if I had been away for 2 months rather than 2 weeks. It was great to see my parents, brother, and pets this weekend which I must admit the majority of which was spent sleeping. Yet I’m glad that I returned home this weekend for I feel as if there will be hardly any chance to go home again once my internship begins and I fully begin to embrace the city life or maybe as it begins to embrace me?