Seven down, One to go...

So now that its finally the fourth week of the semester, I guess its time to get back to blogging. We had around one glorious month of vacation between semesters, and it was nothing short of fantastic. I had plenty of time to go home and see my family, and lots of time off to celebrate our temporary freedom from studying and going to class. I'm going to be completely honest, though: towards the end of vacation, I was really excited to head back. I'm not really used to not having a lot of responsibility in my life, and the lack of running around like a crazy person really started to bore me.

My best friend, Rebecca, came to visit for a few days right after the New Year. She currently lives in London, and we hadn't seen one another since August. We've done a really great job with keeping in touch, but nothing compares to being able to spend time together in Boston. I had so much fun with her; it was by far the highlight of my break.

I also completed all of my graduate school applications over break... I will definitely keep you posted on this. : )

Anyway, I was so ready to come back to school by the second week of January. I missed the first week and a half of Suffolk classes, however, because I went to Washington D.C. for Obama's Inauguration. It was one of the most exciting and exhausting experiences of my life. 92 Suffolk kids ventured down to North Bethesda, Maryland on January 10th to partake in a seminar held by The Washington Center for 10 days. We heard from so many different influential people and visited so many great sites. A few of our sessions were even shown on C-SPAN. Suffolk was by far the most represented university at this national program, and we were all so proud to be there. Being there also made us realize how fortunate we were to go to Suffolk for a few reasons. Many students had to be elected to attend and represent their school, or had to be political science or government majors to attend, but Suffolk opened it up to all students. Also, many students had to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket to participate in the seminar, but Suffolk covered all of our expenses except for transportation and food costs. We even received 4 credits for taking a 6 day class! I was repeatedly told that I was so lucky that I go to a school that would be so supportive of its students participating in such a unique program, and I definitely agree with that. I attended the program with Emily, Beckee, and TJ so be sure to check out their blogs for their takes on the trip, as well.

Although we did so many really interesting things and had so many once-in-a-lifetime moments, here are my favorites:

1.) Watching DC transform into a place that could accommodate for millions of extra people in preparation for the Inauguration,
2.) Visiting many of the monuments and my favorite museum: the Holocaust museum,
3.) Visiting the Human Rights Campaign, which fights for something I am so passionate about,
4.) Hearing the Ambassador to Pakistan and a representative from the Israeli Embassy both discuss their takes on U.S. involvement in the conflict in the Middle East,
and 5.) Seeing Obama drive past us when we were at the Capitol. This picture is of my friend, Kelly, and I after the Obama sighting... So excited! haha

Being in DC with so many people who were so excited for Obama's Inauguration was absolutely unreal. The city had this hopeful vibe wherever we went. We saw some ridiculous things - Obama hand-puppets, for example - but the most memorable thing I saw was the sea of people who were gathered for Obama's concert that aired on HBO. There seemed to be a never-ending sea of people who were clapping, cheering, and hoping to catch just a glimpse of our 44th President. The experience was definitely one that I will never forget, and I am so thankful that Suffolk afforded me the opportunity to partake in such a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Until next time... Peace : )