Coming to a new place brings a fresh start: new places, new schedules, new experiences, but regardless of where I've been or what leadership program hands out the t-shirts, I tend to see the same people.
There's always one ... who has never been away from home. They freak out and recluse themselves into a comfort zone for the entire program. They'll do the minimal amount of work, but mostly just stay in bed or stick to the friends they brought from home.
There's always one ... who doesn't take anything seriously. They'll blow through the program with more focus on the weekend than their internship and classes. When the summer's over, they always seem to wonder why their killer networking at the bar didn't quite pay off.
There's always one ... who takes it too seriously. They'll stick to the scheduled events, tours and activities laid out by the program. They're cordial to peers and roommates, but any kind of personality trait (other than uptight and determined) rarely appears.
There's always one ... who tries to do it all. Someone who wants to do, see and go everywhere with everyone. This one is usually me. I'm focused on interning, focused on classes, focused on blogging, focused on making friends, focused on seeing everything in Washington, focused on ... you get the picture. My theory: I can sleep in August.
So, which person makes the ideal intern? What mindset do you need to have the best experience? Or is there a balance somewhere that I'm not seeing? Maybe I'll be able to answer after I've caught up on sleep.
Alexa will be blogging further about her experience this summer and profiling other students interning on The Hill. Check out her summer chronicle here.