From a Small Town to a Big City

Follow me as I embark on my new adventure during my internship in Washington D.C!

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Closing Remarks

I’m finally home…about 4 months and a 72 page portfolio later here I am, sitting on my own couch eating my mom’s food :)

So what do I say...What can I say to express the amount of gratitude, love, sadness and the general feeling of overwhelmed emotions that I feel? All I can say and believe is that I know this is not the end.

Back in January I was crying to my mom telling her how scared I was that I wouldn’t make it….that I wasn’t ready and yet there I was…leaving TWC shedding tears equivalent to a waterfall telling my friends  I can’t make it without them. I have met the most beautiful souls from all over the world. As one of my fellow interns said during commencement…that may have been one of the last times that we all sit together in a room full of global leaders like ourselves; Motivated, young, driven, intelligent and ready to take on the world.

I know that this is not goodbye, it’s a new beginning as we all go back home touched by those around us. We all go back different people than we were when we started…and I know that every person that I have met has walked away with a piece of my heart because I love them all so much.

Saying my goodbyes or “see ya laters” to all my friends was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do…I specifically remember my last night where I sat back and watched everyone laughing, and living right in the moment and I thought to myself wow…I know that right here right now we won’t get this moment back and I am going to miss them all so much, but it sure was beautiful. I know that I’ve made friends for a lifetime…that I can travel and visit all over the country and really the world. I think I could continue to write pages about each of the beautiful people I’ve met from my friends from Mexico: Paulina, Ingrid, Arlan, Gerardo, Edmundo, Julio, Monica, Monica number 2 :), Daniel, Carlos… all who have touched my life in their own way…making me smile even on my worst day…and of course Jose who has truly taken a piece of my heart back to Hidalgo with him. But of course I can’t forget my roommate Lauren who has been my rock and has the most beautiful heart I have ever seen and that goes along with Eric from Ohio and Joe from Boston...I thank God everyday for all of you. That is just to name a few, these people have been the most amazing friends and I have bonded with all of them in ways I never thought I would. I love you all and I know that this won’t be the end for us.

Overall, The Washington Center has changed my life and I know it has been for the better. I enjoyed every moment. I learned more than I thought I could, accomplished more than I believed possible, smiled more than my cheeks could handle, danced more than my legs would agree with, and laughed more than I thought I ever would. We were definitely living young and professionally!!

So with that I end my blog here on tumblr. Thank you for everyone who has supported me during my time in DC, thank you for all of those who have followed my journey, and thank you for all those that have kept in touch with me while I have been gone.

“It is not about what we expect out of life but rather what life expects out of us”

The End

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The picture is a little dark but you can get the idea...what an amazing opportunity I have had. I could keep going about how much I'll miss everyone and the experience but I think you all know by now...my life will forever be changed. #twcspring14 #livingyoungandprofessionally

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I did it!!!! #twcspring14

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Beautiful #mylastweekend

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It's not the end...it's really only just the beginning. ❤️

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What a beautiful day with beautiful people :) ❤️ #botanicalgardens #lastsaturday #DC #plants #flowers #iminlove

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Just 8 more days...

Oh no, the water works are coming I can feel it. Where did the time go?

One minute I was enjoying my time here like the whole world was mine and the next I’m cramming in my entire end of the semester homework thinking about how I could ever leave so many people behind. I just came back this weekend from a trip to NY. I feel like I’ve bonded so much and made the most amazing connections with so many people, how do I let it go, well I guess the answer is you don't...you take it all with you...It’s a sad feeling…but almost bitter sweet because I know they are all amazing and I am grateful to have met everyone.

I will say though this has been one of the most stressful weeks I’ve ever had also. The work load is insane and I just don’t know how to keep up. This week alone I have so much due, on top of the awesome opportunity to meet my congressman, which I am grateful for but just a little overwhelmed by it all. Its weird to think that I won’t be coming back to my job, although I shouldn’t complain about not having to work a 9-5 everyday.

Anyway, I have to keep this short because I am currently cramming for a presentation this evening! Wish me luck and I’ll be seeing all of you soon!

  Signed,

An all too emotional Raisa

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Amazing! Right up front :) #excited #boxing

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Oh No! I think I took too long to write

Boy have I been busy! But I can’t wait to fill you all in!

Ya know (as a side fact) I could've made a great chunk of cash if I would've made a TV show called "The Real World TWC" haha all the little secrets this place holds :) but as they all say "what happens in Washington stays in Washington" lol!!! Anyway for the real stuff...

So ill start with 2 weekends ago because I think that's when the realization hit that hey we are all going home soon and we all started going on a sightseeing frenzy! (And probably the last time I wrote) Last weekend I managed to squeeze in an international pillow fight on the national mall, a visit to the navy yard, a part of the cherry blossom festival, and a visit to Georgetown. The pillow fight reminded me of the purge but with pillows...people get one day a year to hit strangers with pillows. It’s actually an international thing so if your interested find the closest one near you. Georgetown was amazing! As I figured it would be, we actually took a nice little nap by the water as the weather was beautiful and we were all pretty beat from so much walking.

As for the academic fun last week (if that's what you want to call it) I don't think finals even stress me out so much! I am working on an international development plan which we are to present next week, a portfolio for my program, and a final for class which is insanely hard. We had a goals setting workshop which was awesome! It’s actually part of our portfolio but we got to think about what kind of work environment we want, our goals and future plans and our advisor really gave us some nice points to think about once we leave TWC.

Aside from that, last week and this week we had 2 speakers come to wrap up our leader series which was pretty neat. One was about Hilary Clinton and the one yesterday was actually a women from Emilys List which really caught my attention because she is all about helping democratic women into office..woohoo feminism!

As for this past week and weekend, I still feel like I’m rushing to really fit everything in that I want to do even though I keep telling myself that I live only 3 hours away from DC. But I got my first Rita’s of the season, I went to an AMAZING Jazz place, and I spent my weekend seeing the beautiful cherry blossoms and the monuments surrounding them. Needless to say I slept like a baby from all the walking…sightseeing is tiring…who knew! The jazz place was everything I thought it would be! It was small, candle-lit, and the music was great I absolutely loved it and I really wish we had a place similar back home. As for the cherry blossoms, I’ve never seen so many people in my life but ill tell you what they were BEAUTIFUL so I can see why so many people were there to see them. I posted a lot of pictures on my Facebook for you all to see!

But to kind of wrap up so I don’t ramble forever, personally? I feel so sad…happy still because of this opportunity..but I think as we all slowly pack and make our arrangements to go home its sinking in that this experience is almost over, all these amazing people and the little life we’ve all created here will soon be a memory. Although, I know that I’ve made connections for life and I’m excited to have new friends all over the world to visit.

Anyway, I gotta run because these assignments are calling my name! You’ll hear from me soon and I hope you are all still following along.

Signed,

A stressed out Raisa

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The last day of our Alan K. Simpson-Norman Y. Mineta Leaders Series! Our speaker, Stephanie Schriock from Emily's List, was quite an inspiration! #twcspring14

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Franklin Roosevelt's dog visited us today :) #roomlove #beautifulday #DC

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Selfie time! #metro

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Navy museum! Had one of the best days I've had here in DC so far! Accomplished so much :) #navyyard

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International pillow fight! #2014 #pillowfight #dc

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Immigration

I've done so much in the past week that has really fueled my passion! And what other than immigration.

So I think in my previous blog I talked about my volunteer work, but this week I also got to listen to a speaker who came in and shared with us her experience as an undocumented immigrant in this country. I still don't know how but I know that I want to make a difference somehow so that future children wont have to suffer as she did when she was younger. Did you know that just 5 calls to your local representative about an issue can cause them to look into it? Isn't it amazing how much of a difference we can make? I like how she also mentioned that, in case you haven't already noticed, people tend to be more passionate about what they don't like then what they do. Interesting right? Imagine if we all did something in support of what we were passionate about instead of protests for things we don't like.

Either way, I've had so much on my mind lately about my future its amazing. I think I need to do some narrowing down especially when it comes to working in the non-profit or for-profit world.

So, there's my quick update :) Work is slow, class is busy and I'm trying to soak up every last minute I can here n DC.

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oh no! where has the time gone?!

Hey Everyone!

I have some good stuff to share since its been a little while. But I'll have you know between some stressful situations that have come up, and my health and the huge projects that I am now facing I've been super busy!

Anyway, So this past weekend I got to do some volunteer work with an organization called CARECEN, to be honest it was one of the best experiences of my life! If I could do what I did on Saturday for the rest of my life I would. So what did I do? Well I conducted mock interviews for people who are preparing to take their citizenship test. I had to be a mean USCIS officer for a little while but then I could be nice and practice my Spanish with the ladies I was working with. I felt so good to be able to help them, and give them advice on how to complete their test. that is really my passion, giving the others the opportunity to live the life they want...specifically within the Spanish community.

Monday, we actually did a goal setting workshop which was really neat because we got to see and sort of analyze the type of work we want to do in the future and really determine our values and what we value in the work place. I think from my experience here I have learned that working in an office isn't really the BEST option for me. I like a friendly and active environment. I also think that I've begun to realize that a lot of these successful women that I have met dont have families. I value that I don't want to get to caught up in my career that I forget about my family and the things that matter. I think I have a lot to think about now, even as far as deciding between working in the non-profit world. We have a final paper to write on these types of things so im eager to actually put all these thoughts down on paper.

I think I've been looking at all of these successful individuals and thinking of how exhausting their lives seem and that it seems as though they take so much time trying to be successful but when do they live. When do they enjoy life. Ive had those thoughts on my mind a lot lately. Anyway, Im EXHAUSTED so im ending my blogging for today. I hope you all are still enjoying following my stories here in DC.

  Signed,

Thoughtful

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A little old but just looking back through my pictures! An amazing day at TWC, makes me want to travel the world! ❤️🇺🇸🇨🇳🇫🇷🇪🇸🇮🇹🇷🇺🇬🇧🇯🇵#globalcitizenshipday #newfriends