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Okay, week 7 is complete.  I cannot believe that this summer has gone by so fast; I feel like for as much as I have done while I've been here, I haven't seen half of what I want to see and that...well, that's a tough cookie to swallow.  This week was kind of cool but overall, pretty boring.  The office has basically been empty because everyone (and I seriously mean everyone and their mother) has been on vacation.  Luckily, most of them come back this week.

Monday--I was lucky enough to attend a meeting with an NGO called WOLA.  It's the Washington Office on Latin America and they're interesting.  The meeting was supposed to be more so about Colombia but ended up comparing Colombia to Peru and Guatemala and let's be real...those countries just don't compare.

Tuesday--I had class at the Embassy of Tribal Nations and oh my GOSH.  Our speaker was AMAZING.  She literally blew my mind with the amount of information she provided us with, on top of how passionate she is about improving the lives of Natives across the nation.  She strictly just wants the Native people to not remain the invisible people they are today.  We discussed the Redskins issue and that name really does cut deeper than any of most of you are aware of, so let me get on my soapbox for just a second.

Sadly enough, our American history courses do not even break the tip of the iceberg on Native history.  Not one single bit.  Do you know why Redskins is offensive?  It's because way back when we were in a period of termination of our Native people, "Redskins" referred to the scalp of a Native person while they were advertising bounties. For example, "$200 reward offered for a Redskin" and once the Indian was murdered, he/she would be scalped, their scalps would be sold, and then made into something like wallets or something of a leathery substance.  So for those of you thinking that it's just a liberal ploy for attention--guess again.  ALSO TAKE NOTES ON WHEN THE NAME WAS GIVEN.  The name was given to them when America was in a period of termination--you know, trying to PERMANENTLY remove Indians from the American "homeland".  Anyway, just thought I would throw that out there.

Wednesday--I loved Wednesday.  I was really lucky to be able to attend a meeting that was strictly in Spanish about community policing in Central America.  Surprisingly enough, I caught myself understanding more Spanish than I thought I would and realizing how much help Central America really wants.  After work, I met up with my mom's best friend Ed and Ed's brother, Bill.  The metro ride into Maryland (through southeast DC, mind you...) was interesting, but Ed and Bill treated me to the BEST DINNER I HAVE HAD SINCE I HAVE BEEN HERE.  If y'all haven't been to Char House  in Old Town Alexandria...you need to go.  Thanks to Bill and Ed for treating me and driving me around, on top of providing some of their advice and expertise for me.  I loved it.

Thursday--I GOT TO GO TO THE WHITE HOUSE.  Shout out to Javier for taking us through.  Javier is a rockstar, he is one of the many people I have met that work in DC and just continue inspiring me to follow my dreams.  Javier and Aris both; I have yet to meet two people who love each other so much, but love what they do as well.  I feel like I have two cheerleaders on my side who just want to see me make it back to DC and travel the world once I finally get a job out here.  

Friday actually went by so slow that I don't even remember what I did all day Friday.  That's how long it was.  Friday night, I wrote a paper and it was miserable, the end.

Saturday I woke up with a migraine, but went to the powwow and loved it.  I miss when I was little and my mom used to drag me around to powwows, festivals, and Red Earth days in OKC.  But I came back early because the migraine got so bad and slept for another two hours; I FINALLY GOT TO MEET UP WITH INDIA!  Goodness, I am so glad to have a sister here for the rest of the summer.  It's a total blessing, and Saturday night was so great.

Today, I woke up and got ready, went to Starbucks, and went to the National Zoo.  Ugh, Bao Bao is so cute.  Bao Bao is the baby panda and it was totally worth all of the sweat that happened to see him.  I forgot how much I seriously love animals and the zoo.  After the zoo, we came back and changed and rushed to the Potomac to go kayaking.  My arms are legitimately sore but it was SO fun.  I've also met the second wind of interns from OU that are here for the remainder of the summer and have loved every single one of them.  No worries though, there's no shortage on pictures and they're all going to be posted tonight.  

The biggest lessons I learned this week are short and simple.

1.) Chase your dreams.

Never in a million years did I ever think that I would end up within the gates of the White House; I feel like a kid again.  My want for a shot at the presidency was literally reignited as soon as I stepped into the Blue Room.

2.) You are NOT alone, ever.

You are not alone in the way you think, feel, act, or just in general.  There are a lot of people out there who have similar dreams and when you actually meet them, it is such a beautiful thing.

I'll end this with one more story; I got the chance to catch up with someone back home and it was one of those things where you realize you're basically the same person with the same mindset, you know?  I mean, before this conversation happened, I didn't realize that there was anyone out there who actually thinks along the SAME EXACT LINES as me.  Someone so excited to start their future but with so many viable options in front of them.  So after one of the longest weeks of my life with another one on the horizon, I am just super thankful for Austin this week (I'm not one to drop last names so all of you creepy people can go out and see who I'm talking about so don't ask).  Realizing that maybe you aren't as crazy as you originally thought because there's someone out there just like you is refreshing and most definitely reassuring.  

Off my official soapbox, sorry this post was so long.  Goodnight and good luck and as always, I'll leave y'all with a quote.

When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened.

-John M. Richardson Jr.