A Reflection on My Time in D.C.

This one has been a long time coming. I am so excited to share with you about my internship with International Justice Mission this summer in Washington, D.C. I will be posting an "Organization Spotlight" on IJM at another time, but here's a quick introduction to what the organization does around the world.

www.ijm.org

International Justice Mission

The vision of International Justice Mission is to "rescue thousands, protect millions, and prove that justice for the poor is possible." They do so by partnering with local authorities to rescue victims, hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes, provide aftercare services to survivors, and promote sustainable justice system transformation. IJM works on many different casetypes in nearly 20 communities all over the world. Two of their casetypes include the kind of work my project centers on: commercial sexual exploitation and child sexual assault.

Biking to Meet Lincoln

I've wanted to live in D.C. for as long as I can remember, but it was only recently that I discovered my love of biking. So you can imagine that I was extremely excited when I found out that our capitol city is full of trails and bike routes. Yesterday, I was finally able to try one of these out.

Thanks for Sharing, Congress!

My new Library of Congress card!

Just a quick update from the weekend! (I know, I know, I haven't posted in over a week - that inconsistency will change, I promise)

After a tour of the incredible building with some friends, I got a card for the Library of Congress! If you live or work in D.C. in some kind of research capacity, it is very easy to get an official card as a "reader." That means that I can actually access any of the millions of books that are housed in its buildings here in D.C.

Cannot contain my excitement for this perk of living in the capitol city. Amazing how legitimate a piece of plastic can make you feel.

My inner nerd is probably showing right now, but I definitely plan to check out resources about aftercare provision for victims of sexual violence while I'm here for the summer. I will be sure to share what I find with all of you!

Insights on the Yellow Line

A D.C. Metro Station. Image source.

I certainly hope that I will be able to post more regularly in the weeks to come than I have during the last ten days. However, it was quite a hectic - but incredible - week and a half, full of learning about some very difficult issues and exploring our nation's Capitol. I will post more about these two things in the coming weeks, but right now I just want to share an experience I had on the metro that really drove home an issue that I have been learning about for the last few years and especially this week.

A Whirlwind Until Now

My roommate and I at graduation - credit to Nelson Yount for the photo.

 

It has finally come - the first official day of my fellowship, and what a whirlwind it has been that brought me here. It feels like just yesterday that I was graduating from Vanderbilt and refusing to say goodbye to my dearest friends until a reunion three weeks later at a wedding. Well that wedding was yesterday, and I still feel like I'm refusing to actually say goodbye. After living overseas for part of high school, I have learned that time well spent with friends always means more than a goodbye. What's more, I have such internationally-minded friends that many are going to be all over the globe this next year - meaning I will get to see many of them on my travels! Even if that weren't the case, though, I have made friends in college that will truly last a lifetime. Saying goodbye will - hopefully - never truly happen.