The Concrete Jungle

With just three weeks left of my DC experience, I thought I should take a while to reflect on my journey so far. The wonderful irony of the last week has been spending some time in New York City to take a step back from the busy DC schedule. Even though the size and pace of Manhattan is incomparable to DC, the week gave me a great chance to both evaluate the last three weeks and look ahead to the next and final three.

When I first arrived in DC, I was overwhelmed by the experience for many reasons. The kindness and generosity of my host family struck me; I questioned whether I would be generous enough to welcome someone from across the world to stay with me for the summer. I was also overwhelmed by the calibre of guest speakers, people at the top of their game in the worlds of media, politics, NGOs and other institutions. I was grateful that they wanted to come and speak to the group, and impressed by how they engaged with us individually.
While my internship in the Law Library of Congress has been enjoyable so far, it has also made me realise that I no longer want to pursue law as a career. This has been a difficult decision, and left me with no clear plan of what I want to do after I finish my degree next year. For the last two weeks I’ve found this feeling unsettling; but after my week in NYC I’ve left feeling invigorated that there’s a career out there for me, whatever it may be.

Before coming to NYC, I felt a bit lost in terms of what I had to offer the program and what I was getting in return. At times I felt constrained, without a voice and regularly frustrated. I’ve been increasingly challenged by a lack of understanding of Northern Ireland and its people, both past and present. I have felt underrepresented as a British citizen of Northern Ireland, but instead of challenging the various comments or opinions that have made me feel this way; I became insular and reflective instead. As most of this was coming from guest speakers, I was in the difficult position of not knowing how much I could challenge what I occasionally found as sheer ignorance. Yet being able to voice this frustration in NYC helped me to refocus on why I am a participant on the program. I know I can offer a passion for a better Northern Ireland, and in return I will be equipped with professionalism, new ideas and new confidence.
NYC was the highlight of my Washington Ireland experience so far. I have wanted to visit the city for as long as I can remember, and I’m delighted to say it didn’t disappoint me at all. The buzz of the city, both day and night reinvigorated me and for the first time in a long time I felt settled. By taking some time to explore the city I found myself able to look forward to the next three weeks and further ahead to making plans for the future. I was saddened to be packing my bags, but I left feeling sure that I would be back to NYC at the next possible opportunity.
I’m unsure what the next three weeks will bring, as my experience of DC has been up and down so far. What I do know is that I feel determined to make the most out of the wonderful opportunity I have been given, to continue to build friendships with the other great people on the program, and to find out how I’m going to finance a life in NYC after university!