I’ve slipped into a post-DC coma, avoiding my email, my facebook, and my cell phone for the last week plus, but I suppose its time to rejoin the real world. Finally unpacking my suitcases last night and going through various mementos, it all seems a bit unreal now. How is it possible that so much happened in 10 short weeks?
To write about this summer in the past tense seems a little odd too. I may not physically be in DC anymore, but the connections I made and the experiences I had are the kind that will stay with me forever. Thank you to everyone who made this possible. Especially to the AAPD staff who worked so hard to make sure this summer was life altering. And to MEAF whose support made everything possible. And to my mentor Yoshiko who taught me so much.
To have to fit everything I learned into a neat, little post seems counterintuitive, especially when one of the biggest things I learned is that the best experiences do not often come in neat, orderly, gift-wrapped packages, and the measure of success is how well you can run with the unexpected opportunity. My time in DC taught me to suspend my expectations and be ready to embrace the unexpected, to always put myself out there because opportunities rarely come around a second time, and to be a better listener than speaker. The highlights of my summer were the AAPD-NCIL BBQ (over 1400 members of the disability community!!!!), the Power & Pride Gala, the star-studded pizza parties, and of course appearing on NewsHour with Andy.There are too many more highlights and lessons learned to list, so I’ll just end with a final THANK YOU!
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