What a weekend it has been. Friday morning at 6am, Mom, Dad, a truck, a Uhaul trailer, a Honda Accord, and I headed to Washington, D.C. We had a lengthly trip but luckily did not hit any traffic. We arrived in Maryland around 7pm. I got to meet my roommate, who is very nice, and we were able to unload the entire Uhaul before it got really dark. I stayed at the hotel Friday night but woke up the next morning knowing the bed was the first thing we needed to set up.
Saturday, we spent the entire day getting things out of boxes, building furniture, and trying to put my room in some sort of order. The day came and went very fast. Sunday, we decided to take a break from building and unpacking and acted as tourist. We visited most of the monuments (Washington, Lincoln, etc.) and the memorials (WWII, Veterans, Korean) in honor of Memorial Day weekend. The monuments and memorials were so neat. I've only seen pictures before but being in the capital for such a patriotic holiday was very neat. But I have realized I need to brush up on my history.
Today, we spent the afternoon at the Washington National Zoo!! The pandas were soo cute but the lions won my heart today. Man did they put on a show!! One of the lions saw something in the water and jumped into the water to get it. Once he got out he had a rabbit in his mouth. There were two other lions who were insanely jealous. I took a video of one trying to get some of the rabbit. Check it out on my Facebook.
After a long day at the zoo, we came home and built more furniture and hung pictures. My room is finally starting to feel like home. I don't start work until Thursday so until then I am going to continue to organize my room and get all the errands I need to out of the way in the next two days.
This move has been stressful but I am so happy to be up here. Once I am settled in, I believe this will be an unbelievable adventure. Be sure to stay tuned. This year has a lot in store for me. ;)
Showing posts with label Washington DC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington DC. Show all posts
Monday, May 28, 2012
Thursday, May 3, 2012
The Power of Networking
I recently took a trip to Washington D.C. There were a lot of firsts for me but I was excited to do some things I had never done before.
I have never flown completely alone before. I had never been to a city were I didn't have someone with me. A lot of other boring details of things I had never done before got accomplished on this day but that isn't the message of my blog.
I was extremely nervous to do the unknown alone. However, I quickly learned this world is a lot smaller than we think.
I met a lady on the plane who was from DC originally and was working in Atlanta with a nonprofit organization. We talked for about half the plane ride and when we landed she handed me her business card and said keep in touch. Look me up on LinkedIn.
While in DC my only form of transportation was the metro. So I had to tackle this public transportation by myself. So naturally I was extremely focused on signs and time and making sure I got on the right color line. I had to look like a tourist until a lady came up to me and asked ME for directions. She said I looked like I knew exactly what I was doing and commended me for taking such a risk to do this on my own at a such a young age.
Later that day I had a three hour wait for my flight back to Atlanta. I was trying to study (and not doing so well) when a gentlemen sat next to me at the bar. He began to ask me about my day and my life story. So I figured I'm not going to get any studying done, I'll humor him. Come to find out, he was in DC because he won an award for designing a program for the National Weather Service.
After talking with him for almost an hour I just wanted to sleep on the plane because I knew my long drive back to Auburn that night would be long and exhausting. I happened to sit next to a lady who just wanted to chat. Okay. Why not? I've met some interesting people today, let's have a chat. This lady lives in AR where Brenden will be moving. She began to tell me everything he needed to know about Fayetteville. Then the conversation never ran dry for the entire 2 hour flight. We had a lot in common and didn't want to stop talking because she was so interesting.
I learned that day that we are all connected in some way. People want to help others (most of the time.) why should we sit by ourselves and pretend like we don't need anyone or anything? Meeting and talking with those people that day helped solidify what I've always believed: networking is a powerful tool. There are too many people in the world to just stick to our tiny box of people. The only way to grow is to learn and there is only so much you can learn from a tiny box.
So venture out and meet new people. Try new things and don't be afraid to be honest and open with people you don't know. They may know someone who knows someone that can help you out in the near or far future.
I have never flown completely alone before. I had never been to a city were I didn't have someone with me. A lot of other boring details of things I had never done before got accomplished on this day but that isn't the message of my blog.
I was extremely nervous to do the unknown alone. However, I quickly learned this world is a lot smaller than we think.
I met a lady on the plane who was from DC originally and was working in Atlanta with a nonprofit organization. We talked for about half the plane ride and when we landed she handed me her business card and said keep in touch. Look me up on LinkedIn.
While in DC my only form of transportation was the metro. So I had to tackle this public transportation by myself. So naturally I was extremely focused on signs and time and making sure I got on the right color line. I had to look like a tourist until a lady came up to me and asked ME for directions. She said I looked like I knew exactly what I was doing and commended me for taking such a risk to do this on my own at a such a young age.
Later that day I had a three hour wait for my flight back to Atlanta. I was trying to study (and not doing so well) when a gentlemen sat next to me at the bar. He began to ask me about my day and my life story. So I figured I'm not going to get any studying done, I'll humor him. Come to find out, he was in DC because he won an award for designing a program for the National Weather Service.
After talking with him for almost an hour I just wanted to sleep on the plane because I knew my long drive back to Auburn that night would be long and exhausting. I happened to sit next to a lady who just wanted to chat. Okay. Why not? I've met some interesting people today, let's have a chat. This lady lives in AR where Brenden will be moving. She began to tell me everything he needed to know about Fayetteville. Then the conversation never ran dry for the entire 2 hour flight. We had a lot in common and didn't want to stop talking because she was so interesting.
I learned that day that we are all connected in some way. People want to help others (most of the time.) why should we sit by ourselves and pretend like we don't need anyone or anything? Meeting and talking with those people that day helped solidify what I've always believed: networking is a powerful tool. There are too many people in the world to just stick to our tiny box of people. The only way to grow is to learn and there is only so much you can learn from a tiny box.
So venture out and meet new people. Try new things and don't be afraid to be honest and open with people you don't know. They may know someone who knows someone that can help you out in the near or far future.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)