If I tried to contact any of my friends at Wake Forest, I could be trying in vain because they are living in Z. Smith Reynolds library.  Final exams are the first priority of almost every college student right now.  But here in D.C. it works a little differently.

Maybe because this program does not have intense final exams, the end of the semester has honestly snuck up on me.  I now have about a week and a half left with the Quebec Government Office and it is bittersweet- as much as I have enjoyed my time here, I am ready for flip flops and summer.  So, because this week I have a final paper due in my WFU independent study class, an exam and a paper due in my TWC academic course, and a portfolio due to TWC, this is my final blog entry. 

In my family, we have a tradition after a vacation to list the four worst activities and the four best activities of our trip.  So to carry on that tradition, first I will tell you what I saw to be the pitfalls of the semester:

4) Missing Wake Forest- As much as I love that my WFU friends sincerely tried to keep in touch with me, it was hard to hear of them doing the typical spring semester events without me.  But in order to spend a semester in D.C., obviously I had to leave Wake.  So all in all, it was a good trade off, but just something I did not expect to feel when I arrived here.

3) My Apartment- I actually have no great complaint here.  My apartment had everything that the four of us needed, but I do know that others lived in more upgraded apartments than mine.  However, the apartment complex is going to renovate our particular apt unit so the next group will be good to go!

2) Mount Vernon- I never got a chance to go here.  The weekends were always busy with something going on in the city, so I never wanted to leave for a full day.  Same with the Newseum- I know that it takes about 2 days to go through that museum, and I never wanted to set aside that much time from the other events of D.C. to be in just one museum.  Oh well….

1) The Snow- Oh.  My.  Goodness.  I still am reeling from how much snow we got.  But it was record breaking amounts, so I don’t think this will be a huge problem for others in the future.

As you might have noticed, I have very few legitimate complaints from the semester, because I had with the semester because realistically everything ran very smoothly.  So, playing off of that and to leave it on a positive note, I want to include list of the top four things from my experience here:

4) My Roommate- After living with someone for a semester, you naturally know the other person better than most.  I think that personally I lucked out with my roommate, but living with Anne was nothing short of a pleasure- she is now one of my best friends, and I will not be able to think back on this semester in D.C. without having her in my memory (sorry if that sounds cheesy, but its true).

3) The Internship- Obviously this was the reason I came to D.C. so it’s a good thing it ended up on the list.  But the people in the office were great, and the work experience was invaluable.  Now when I go back to college next year and continue to avoid the real world, I have a better idea what to expect when I get out of the University atmosphere.

2) The Undies Run- Yes, I think that this experience, although bizarre and possibly embarrassing to my family name, was one of the best things that I did.  Having the opportunity to get involved in some of the local, young single life was enjoyable and it gave me the opportunity to see the city in a completely new light!

1) The Supreme Court- I am totally and completely a nerd, but the two hours I spent in that court room were inexplicably unlike anything else I have ever done.  It was absolutely worth my time in D.C. just to see that.

And so, just as every great actress does as she wins her Oscar, I feel the need to thank all those people who kept reading this blog: Mom and Dad; Aunt Barbara and Tom; Aunt Becky; Anne’s family; Connor; Sarah W; Sara C.; Corey; all my other WFU friends; Mr. Bryant; my mom’s friends; Mr. McCarthy, and all those people that consistently read this without my knowledge.  Knowing that you are reading about my experience has made it enjoyable to consistently write about my time here.

And as usual, I will end my blog humming to:

Que Sera Sera.