First week on Capitol Hill

My first week on Capitol Hill was definitely something I will always remember. During my first day at my placement, I was sent out on a scavenger hunt of the Capitol building by myself. They gave me a list of 20 places I had to go and to bring proof that I had been there. I managed to tour the Capitol building, the House office buildings and the Senate office buildings in three hours. It was intimidating, but I have to admit that completing the task was fun and I’m glad I did it because now I know my way around. In addition to my “solo tour” I can say that another highlight of my first week was receiving a record number of constituents calling to support an issue and by the end of the week the senator responded to the needs that she was being asked for. That really made my first week memorable because it was like a front row ticket to the democratic process. The ropes course was very effective at putting us in unrealistic situations that brought out the best in us. The part in which we were blindfolded and had to identify different objects was something I thought we were not going to do. In this activity we were able to listen to each other and by that we became better leaders and better followers. I believe that is the most important trait a leader can posses: to know when to lead and when to follow.