Substance

I used to think that this is where I was going to end up in 10 years...either here or the White House. Not as a politician, but as a politician's communication director. Have you ever watched West Wing? Remember Toby? Yeah, I'd want his job if I were to work in Washington, DC. But that was before my sophomore year of college...Before I became a resident assistant.

Not everyone likes being a RA. To be honest, there are some parts of the job that I could do without, but I suck it up and do the things that I don't like doing because it's still a part of my job.

But to be honest again, I don't really consider being a RA a "job" anymore. I'm sitting here at home, in the middle of the summer, wanting nothing more than to get back to school, to bulletin boards, door decs, residents and programs. I really, truly believe that when a job ceases to be a job, that says something. In my case, I think it's saying that I'm not meant to be in an office building somewhere in a cubicle, or taking the subway to work everyday and running around the Capitol Building.

I feel like being a RA gives me substance (as weird as that may sound to some people). I'm not saying that I want to be a RA for the rest of my life, because I don't. I don't even know if I want to work in housing for the rest of my life, but it's definitely somewhere to start. I really feel like I might be happier working with college kids in some way, shape or form.

With all that being said, I also realized earlier this summer that junior year is when I really need to start thinking about grad school (especially if I get to study abroad like I want to during senior year). I *used* to think that grad school was going to consist of more communications work, political science, or public administration. Now, not so much. Now grad school looks more like student affairs or leadership stuff.

Does this mean that I'm giving up on my Washington, DC, dream? No it doesn't. Who says that 15 years or so down the road that I wont get tired of doing whatever I end up doing? Just because I do something different doesn't mean that I can't go back to my DC dream...especially if anyone I know ever runs for office.

Okay, I'm going to stop thinking about the future for now...it's starting to freak me out just a little bit.