First Day On The Job

Today was the first day of my internship at CNS News. I went into it with excitement, but left a bit discouraged. I showed up early like any good intern would. Once my boss finally came to meet me we filled out some paperwork and then he introduced me to everyone in the office. He then proceeded to show me to my desk and helped me log into my computer. After that he left and didn't return for quite sometime. So there I was sitting in front of this computer with no instruction. I decided to get on CNS' website and browse around. He finally came back to tell me I could go to lunch. In fact, he took me to lunch. I like free food. 

At lunch he was asking about issues that interest me and such. I proceeded to tell him that what I am really interested in is public relations. Unfortunately he told me that CNS does not offer a PR internship. I was quite disappointed and beginning to feel like I picked the wrong internship. I am not a political junkie and that seems to be a requirement in this environment. 

Let me cut in to tell you a bit about CNS News. CNS prides itself on reporting the stories that go unreported. They coined the phrase " media watchdog" and are out to expose the liberal media bias. CNS reporters writes stories that are posted on their website (cnsnews.com) and are available to be picked up by other news outlets. So if I can keep up with this crowd, then eventually my stories should be showing up on the internet somewhere. Anyway, that is CNS in a nutshell. Now back to regularly scheduled programming.

After lunch I did the same thing; "familiarized myself with the website". In fact, I familiarized myself until 5:30pm when I went to find my boss to make sure I was allowed to leave. I think it is safe to say that the day did not go as well as I had planned. I felt pretty well ignored all day and it looks like I'm not going to get to do much of what I really wanted to learn about (public relations). I left with soar feet and a bruised sense of confidence, but it was just the first day. I figure it has to get better from here. So I will show up tomorrow morning expecting the best. Thankfully the Lord's mercies are new every morning. Also, I was walking by the Capitol tonight and a band was playing Journey's "Don't Stop Believing". That's got to be a good sign, right?  ;)

And So It Begins...

Washington Monument

After being in the District for a few days it is fair to say that my semester has begun. Mom and I drove down on Thursday. We played "tourists" for a couple of days. Then I moved in on Saturday. The past couple of days have been busy to say the least. It seems like I have gotten to see a decent amount of DC. I am figuring out the metro quite successfully. I have yet to get on a train in the wrong direction. I am realizing more and more how glad I am that this is not my first time in DC. Having visited here before provides a tiny bit of familiarity, and I am thankful for that.

Today I traveled to Alexandria VA in search of the Media Research Center. I will officially start my internship tomorrow. It looks like I'll have about an hour commute each way. That detail is a bit disconcerting, but overall I am excited. I am certainly nervous as well. I have a very vague idea of what I will be doing and many questions. I'm hoping to get all of my questions answered tomorrow. I expect tomorrow to be an exciting day, but equally exhausting. An internship is a foreign concept to me, especially a DC internship! I know it's going to be tough, but it's what I signed up for. I wish that I could write more about it, but I won't know until tomorrow. So in the mean time enjoy a few of the sights that I have seen, and don't forget to be praying for me!

Inside the Rotunda of the Capitol Building

Typical tourist picture

Panda at the National Zoo