I am now officially a week removed from Swat! Very sad that sophomore year is over, well, sort of. It needed to end because I needed to get to the summer..haha

That aside, I'm fairly happy with the way I did in my classes since they were all a challenge in their own ways this past semester.
In American Politics, I had a really difficult time writing short, concise, succinct essays and I improved my judgment on what was necessary detail/argument and what needed to put in the footnotes (or not included at all). I also discovered how to use footnotes wisely! I hadn't used it much in the past except for citations but I learned that as I thought more about what I was writing, it just seemed natural that my brain would say "...and you should footnote this." I'm really glad that I took this class because I absolutely love American Politics. 
In Practical Wisdom, well, I had a crisis about life while taking this class. I would come back from seminar at 12:45 am and wouldn't be able to sleep until 3...haha, yea. This class was wonderful and it made me really think about the way that I make decisions, the way I approach work, life, etc. Yes, I know it all sounds very general but the class was truly a transformative experience, and I guess you'll just have to come to Swat yourself to take it! For example, we debated on the value of bureaucracies in schools and the healthcare industry, the role of emotions in decision-making, intuition versus rational step-by-step decision-making, etc. Look here at Prof Schwartz's TED talk on practical wisdom for an idea of what practical wisdom is. Prof Schwartz and my Practical Wisdom Prof (Sharpe) are both working on a book right now.. http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/barry_schwartz_on_our_loss_of_wisdom.html It's an important topic that I believe needs to be taken into serious consideration and make its way into national dialogue. So, anyway, that was a challenge all together in itself because I had to re-consider my own thoughts and ways of thinking, and I walked out of the seminar with new ideas, perspectives, and questions.
In Physics of Musical Sound, I had a good time learning about something that I had no prior knowledge in. I literally had no idea what I was getting myself into but got a glimpse of the mechanics of sound. It was difficult because some of the more advanced concepts required an understanding of advanced physics which we could only learn theoretically. I ended off the class by writing a paper on Enya and Celtic music. It was a great experience because I learned to ask different questions and write a research-based analytical paper that is completely different from my usual poly sci papers.
Urban Economics..I absolutely loved the class. This was something that I had taken just because I needed a class that fit my schedule, and some friends had told me that enjoyed it. I knew that I liked studying cities from freshman year but being someone who grew up in a suburb of one of the largest cities in the world, I had never thought much about the transportation system, layout of the city, importance of municipal policy, etc. I think that a lot of our perception and characterization about urban policy is shaped by where we live (if we live close to a city, that is) and what we see around us in the media. I love cities even more now, and whenever I am in a city (which is now), I start to notice things like, windows of shops facing the street ("eyes on the streets," a term coined by Jane Jacobs who was critical of America's urban renewal projects. This class gave me a way to think about how "space" is used.

So, it's been two years since I've been at Swat..halfway through? my goodness. And what do I have to say? Nothing much I suppose besides the fact that I love it there. Sophomore year was challenging but I found some amazing friends along the way and realized that I couldn't do everything or have everything without sacrificing my health, stress, happiness, all that good stuff. I think I came into Swat thinking that it would be just like high school, where I could do fifty gazillion things, sleep little, put a bit of work into high school work, and just get by. My mentor had told me that college would be different but I didn't really believe him until this year, when I took a step back and thought about what my priorites are. And don't get me wrong..there are people who do get by sleeping little, being involved in 50 gazillion things, doing amazing in school, and are happy but I am not like that. I need sleep. In fact, I need "a lot" of it, i.e. 8 hours (you know, the normal amount that doctors recommend but probably most of the world doesn't get). I still overcommit myself at times but I have to indulge myself once in awhile, right? :)

So I'm in a great place right now, in life and in reality. I've been staying with a Swat alum and his wife, two wonderful people, I must add. I've started my internship with the Girl Scouts Public Policy and Advocacy office, and it has been amazing. I feel like it is work that I could see myself doing for years. I've just been learning about the issues that our office focuses on including girls' emotional health in addition to their physical health, encouraging girls to pursue Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields, etc. It's also been exciting, exploring the city, learning about the bus & rail lines, getting lost (or at least thinking that I'm lost), cooking for myself (hahaaaaa), learning to keep track of my money, etc etc etc. It's been a GREAT experience so far even though I've been so tired from all of it. I'll be moving into GWU dorm housing tomorrow, and I am excited because that means that my friends will be coming to town soon! I'm actually heading back to Swat in 2 weeks to work for alumni weekend so I'll be reunited with a bunch of Swatties then! And to use a term my friends have coined, "the summer of awesome" has begun!