Finding an internship.

So today was an internship bazaar on campus for all Washington Semester students, with about 100 companies represented. I have pretty narrow interests here in DC, so I was only planning on talking to 4 or 5. I get there, and two of the ones I want to talk to arent even there. Bummer. So I talk to two, Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Stopthedrugwar.org. I also talked to the Center for Conscientious Objection, which I think would be interesting, but the guys I talked to were so impersonal and awkward that it put me off immediately.

Last night, I was preparing for the bazaar by googling everything to do with interviews and job fairs. And everything was incredibly redundant. 500 websites telling me the exact same thing. And to further the cycle of redundancy, Im gonna repeat what I found most interesting.

1. KNOW WHAT YOUR RESUME SAYS. Honestly, I wrote my resume a while ago, and had forgotten some of my bullet points. One place asked me to elaborate on something, and I was completely caught off guard. And if you...*ahem* embellish ... on your resume, you better remember what you said or your bluff will be called immediately.

2. KNOW WHAT TABLES YOU ARE GOING TO, AND GO THERE.

One site I looked at told me to wander around the outside and get the 'lay of the land.' Good idea. Another told me to walk the aisles and look at each table. But I caution you, do this once. Two people commented to me how they had seen me walk by multiple times. This could make the company think youre not really interested in them, and simply just handing out resumes to last resorts. It can also make you look unprepared and scattered. Not to mention is it an incredible time waster, and (if youre wearing heels like I was) painful.

3. WHILE ITS GREAT TO HAVE YOUR ANSWERS PREPARED, THINK ON YOUR FEET.

Ive always been told to have a 30-second elevator pitch. You know, what you would say about yourself if you had an on the spot interview betweens floor 1 and 10. So Ive got that. But you need to be able to elaborate. The people I talked with today were more conversational. At my interview with stopthedrugwar, I was not asked my weakness or specifically about my background or what I could bring to the company, and I still got the position. And thats because I was able to carry a (somewhat) intellectual discussion and show enthusiasm for the topic. That is key. You can have the perfect weakness and know exactly how to make the company a fortune 500, but there needs to be something more, something personal.

Yah, thats pretty much it. I've got three potential internships that Ive got to look over, and am having a hard time choosing. Im a hot commodity!

Im in DC!

Right now, Im sitting in my room, next to my two awesome Korean roommates. At first I was really worried about having two international roommates, especially two who already knew each other. But I was completely wrong. I love it. They are so incredibly nice and funny and we get along really well. This is gonna be such an amazing experience.

On Friday night, I went out with about 15 other people, mostly international students. We went downtown to a restaurant/bar and then I came back because Im under 21 and they were going to a nightclub. It was so much fun meeting people from across the world.

So far I have learned:

-DC clubs are almost all 21+ and the doormen can be really rude and unhelpful.

-Talgi means strawberry in Korean.

-Just like how I want to go to Europe and travel, many of the Europeans Ive met have dreamed of coming to America and traveling

and finally (and probably the cheesiest thing Ive ever said)

-We're not really that different at all. Even though Ive met people from different cultures, who speak different languages, and usually have never been to the US, we get along fabulously.

Thankful in retrospect

This past weekend was Thanksgiving. Its one of my favorite holidays- family is all together, there's delicious food, and you dont have the stress of having to give presents out. Since Ive been in MA, I haven't been home for Thanksgiving, nor have I really celebrated it. Freshman year I went home with my friend who was Chinese, and they didnt celebrate the day. I ended up eating rice, birthday cake, and macaroni. Last year... many things happened (not good things, either) that just kind of made the day really bad, and I didn't get any turkey. So this year, I wasnt really planning on anything. But my friend ALA invited me home with her, so I took her up on it. I hadn't seen her in a while and thought it would be really nice. The food was amazing. Her mom is an amazing cook and there was just so much of it. I ate alot, had a great nap, and then we went Black Friday shopping. I came home on Friday to an empty house content and with tons of leftovers.

So what am I thankful for?

My friends- not gonna lie, this year has sucked socially. People have just been different. But Im thankful for the few that have stuck around.

My family- especially my sister. She's getting older now and we're starting to really get along.

The fact that it hasn't snowed.

Certainly, there are more, but thats my top three.

My first post?

I've been batting around this idea for a while. I started a tumblr over the summer, but it really didnt work for me. I need a place to write, to share thoughts, not just post witty one-liners and interesting pictures. I've (semi) faithfully kept a journal for three years now, but I find myself consumed with work, leaving me little time to write. And I've decided its time for a change. Writing in my journal kept me locked in my negative memories- I dwelled on stuff way too much and never wrote when I was happy. I want to take those negative thoughts/experiences, mull them over, and transform them into something positive. One of my rules to live by is to have no regrets- to take everything and learn from it. So thats the premise of this- lessons learned- and hopefully you will enjoy it.