Whenever I get a taste...

I only live about 40 minutes outside of D.C. I've lived in the same town that sits 40 minute out of D.C. my entire life. Between annual Washington field trips in school and visiting my sister who lives in NW DC, the nation's capital hasn't exactly been a foreign beast to me. But no matter how many times I stand in front of the White House or how many photographs I take of the Supreme Court building, I'm still smitten.

Walking down Constitutional Avenue just never fails to sweep me off my feet and this weekend was no exception.

I was lucky enough to accept a grant to attend the PLEN (Public Leadership Education Network)
Public Policy seminar where I heard from women working in various offices and departments in D.C. and attended several workshops directed at women aiming for careers in public policy. While the panels and speakers were interesting and helpful, nothing can compare to walking through the Capital or sitting in Sen. Barbara Mikulski's office, discussing the flaws of our healthcare system.

This week was the perfect taste of Washington to keep me going. Sometimes I find myself dragging through ruts when I lose sight of why I'm studying what I'm studying and why I'm working for this. But when you see the spark in the eyes of everyone else on The Hill and you feel the rush of speaking on behalf of issues that matter to you and to millions of other people, you can't deny the motivation. I caught the bug.

So I'll start this semester with a revived spirit. Here's to 2015, the year I spend more time studying the healthcare system than utilizing it.