I think I will be a zombie for Halloween. I have the dark circles under my eyes, a staggered walk and the inability to string words together in complete sentences. I can just throw on something from my mountain of dirty laundry and I will officially have the best costume of all time. Umm, no. Although the idea has merit, I seem to look like that everyday (with the exception of the dirty clothes…I DO wear clean clothes) and it’s time for a change of pace – at least for one night. Life in DC has just continued to move faster then ever and now that I have reached the halfway point, I find myself dreading the moment I leave. December has always seemed far away, but now it is just around the corner…nope, nope. Talking about this subject ends here. I just can’t think about it.
Recent social events include watching Bob’s (that’s Bob Schieffer for people who live under a rock) band play at the Rock and Roll Hotel, exploring the Georgetown waterfront, frequenting Molly & Malones (a.k.a. supporting the Rangers in their quest to take a chunk out of the chip on the Yankees’ shoulders – that’s right, I’m talking to you Derek Jeter), two-stepping with Bob and his friends at the National Press Club, checking out the American History Museum and trying some Tappas yumminess. My roommates continue to be the ultimate support system and I am thankful everyday that they are here with me. I can tell the stress level has gotten a little higher – the dance parties in the living room have happened more often (not sure how they feel about everyone knowing we dance to the Backstreet Boys and Whitney Houston around our coffee table – so just don’t say anything). I have also come to respect my roommates as professionals – not that I didn’t respect them before, its just that I have seen their passion and commitment to their chosen field and I can’t help but be proud of them and their accomplishments.
Additionally, FALL IS HERE!!! I didn’t know how much I missed it…three years of jumping from scorching summer to chilly winter-ish weather has totally messed up my relationship with Fall. But Fall and I are back together – not Facebook official or anything, but it is definitely a serious infatuation. We are going to Mount Vernon on Saturday to see all the leaves that changed and hopefully we will do some pumpkin carving soon – (that was really a warning to our kitchen floor….)!
So my professional life – still challenging, still engaging and still reassuring me that I want to do this type of work (public relations/strategic communication for those random people currently reading my blog) for the rest of my life. Yesterday, I helped out with another Eldercare Workforce Alliance advocacy day!! I was excited about having the opportunity to work with them again and in addition to working on the press releases and doing media pitches, I also conducted some of the interviews that will be used on the new EWA website (coming soon, so get excited)! Once again, I was moved by their professional and personal stories – I truly hope that I am that passionate and committed to whatever I choose in the future…they inspire me to be as involved, if not more so. The workload has been trying at times, which is contributing to the zombie look I have going on currently, but it is good experience. It is good experience. It is good experience (that is what helps me get up every morning!)
Moving forward, I know things are going to continue to be challenging and hectic. And that means I need to channel some leadership qualities (this is a horrible segway into the professional reflection topic, but I am a zombie, give me a break). Effective leadership for me is having the ability to inspire, support and objectively evaluate the people around you, in a political, corporate, personal or social sense. I think effective leaders need to be excellent communicators, listeners, managers and writers. I also think leaders need to have confidence as well as established ethical and moral boundaries. These qualities exist in several of the people that I work with. A staff that is this small needs to have a combination of these skills or else the company couldn’t be as successful as it is. I have been most impressed by my co-workers commitment to their clients and this field. I see the same passion I saw with the EWA advocates – I can’t help but be impressed. I need to spend some time after finishing the internship and experience in DC to identify what I was impressed or not impressed by…I have found that first impressions and thoughts aren’t always true and it takes time and effort to really understand what is going on. And with that deep final thought, I will bring this novel to an end.
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