Adulting Part 2, By Mary Honaker

So, last time I wrote a blog post about learning to be an adult, and in a way this post is an extension of that. Before this summer I had never been out of Columbus for longer than a month, and I had never really understood what it was like to live as an adult. You don’t realize how different adulthood is until you’re crying in a Starbucks to your mom because you can’t handle your roommates or boss or work or whatever anymore. And the worst part is, you know you have to just wake up and deal with it all again the next day. I think one of the craziest parts about growing up is realizing how important your family and friends really are. I came into WAIP thinking that I was going to take on the world and fall in love with my internship and conquer D.C., but most days it felt like D.C. was conquering me. Even when things were absolutely awful, though, I knew there was a friend at home or a relative or Katy who I could turn to and lean on. I think that is the most important thing I would say to any one thinking about doing WAIP: it’s hard, but you will learn to appreciate the people who love you and the place you call home so much more. High rises and fancy jobs and huge networks are great, but there are people out there who will love you and root for you no matter what your position or net worth are. I still love politics, but this program has reminded me how important it is to love every moment of life instead of just loving a position or political power. And that realization is when I realized I was actually becoming an adult. That, and when I was finally able to run the dishwasher without supervision. It has been a crazy summer, but I can for sure say Washington D.C. changed my life.