At the halfway point of this fellowship, I can feel myself slowly growing into the person that I want to be. I’ve experienced a roller coaster of emotions from the moment that I got the phone call up to now, ranging from excitement and joy to anxiety and homesickness. I have moved to an unfamiliar city, lived on my own, worked full-time for the first time ever, figured out the metro system, done my own laundry and grocery shopping, cooked my own meals, and explored what life would be like here.
Even with the thick, suffocating dome of heat and humidity, and the hills that pop out of nowhere and gas me out after a short walk, I still find myself drawn to DC. This is a city where some of the most important and powerful people live and work, where some of the most significant policy decisions are made, and where many historical events have occurred. The times that we are living in are frustrating and even scary at times, making it easy to feel hopeless. For a long time, I avoided the news and politics despite the passion I once felt for it. My public relations major coaxed me out of that phase as I was required to read the news and stay informed for assignments, but I still found no joy in it. However, being here makes me view the political atmosphere differently. People come here everyday because they want to work for people and organizations that they believe in. They are some of the most ambitious, hungry people you will meet and each of them have different motivations. But what they all have in common is that they truly believe they can make an impact in some way, and many of them do.
A few weeks ago, I attended a watch party at a pub in Capitol hill for the presidential debate because it felt like a very DC thing to do. I watched the pub patrons cheer and jest at different moments as if they were watching a football game, and I overheard various groups analyze and break down each remark while scrolling through twitter to gauge the overall sentiment as the debate progressed. Four years ago, I would’ve felt overwhelmed by this type of scene. But this time, the energy excited me instead. I felt surprised at how engaged I was and how involved I wanted to be.
At my internship with Human Rights Watch, I’m lucky to get a front row seat to some of the most intelligent and interesting people as they discuss the various human rights conflicts happening worldwide. The researchers at the organization participate in our weekly communications meetings to answer questions about their comprehensive reports that they spend months, sometimes even years, composing. I also get to attend learning sessions on various topics, with the most recent one being about strengthening multilateralism to enhance global strategy. A couple of weeks ago I attended a rooftop event after work that celebrated two new employees while saying farewell to two researchers who were leaving the organization. Listening to them share their favorite stories of working on location in different countries while tirelessly investigating and gathering evidence for their reports made me realize something that is of course painfully obvious. I can’t really complain about the current state of the country if I’m not doing anything to change it.
I feel immensely grateful for the opportunity that this fellowship has provided me with, but most of all, I’m grateful for the hope and passion for justice that it has restored in me. I’m working with an organization that truly inspires me, and I’m excited to see what more I’ll learn and accomplish in the coming weeks.