I know I said a couple weeks ago that I'd write a post updating you all on what has happened with my medical situation, and I really have been trying to...for the past two weeks... And it's just become this long, rambling, and fairly incoherent post with no actual point. I'd be happy to give actual details to anyone who really wants to know, just Facebook me or email me or whatever. But suffice it to say that I went back to my old doctor at the University of Chicago and he had a solution...a solution that scared the shit out of me (due to a horrendous past experience), but by the power of Jehovah alone, I was able to get through it. And for the past two weeks, I've been relatively pain free...for the first time in about three months (except for the fact that I'm going through major narcotic withdrawal, which is never fun).
But that's not the reason I'm writing this. I'm writing this because, yesterday, I went on my second hospital advocacy call with the DC Rape Crisis Center. And it was...intense, to say the least, but it also served as an amazing reminder of where I'm going and what I need to be doing with my life. And it re-confirmed that I might actually be good at this...
Since school ended I've been focusing pretty much all my attention (with the exception of studying for and taking the LSAT) on my political interests. I've been interning at EMILY's List, an organization that works at all levels, (national, state and local) to elect pro-choice democratic women. Furthermore, working at this incredible (and remarkably influential) organization, I've begun to believe that my next step after graduation (this coming December) may be working on a campaign. And this place can get me there After asking some former interns if they had any specific advice regarding how to get onto a campaign, the thing which stuck out in my mind the most was one of the former interns saying, "Think about and write down the five names of the people on whose campaigns you would most like to work. Then talk to people here [at EMILY's List]. They'll make it happen."
My jaw is still kind of on the floor after that one.
See, when I applied for this internship, I knew that I loved EL and that it had a great mission and had done some cool things. I had absolutely zero conception of their reach. I didn't know that the President of EMILY's List, Stephanie Schriock, was the campaign manager for Al Franken. Yeah, that campaign. I had no clue that Denise Feriozzi, the director of the WOMEN VOTE! department (basically, EL's Get Out The Vote arm) was the Field Director for Hillary Clinton's Iowa Caucus race.
This place is incredible, and there are so many people here that I can learn from and so much to do that I agree with and love doing. But...
There's that little thing in the back of my head that I know: This just isn't my passion. Yeah, I love it, and in so many ways I'm obsessed with it, but it's not my calling. It intrigues me, amuses me, and excites me, but I don't have that guttural need to do this. Not like when I'm touching on anything to do with combating sexual violence.
That's where this past weekend comes in. As many of you probably know, I'm a volunteer at the DC Rape Crisis Center, and I take both crisis hotline calls and hospital advocacy shifts. Well, on Saturday I had an advocacy shift and, for only the second time since starting, I got called in. Now, as usual, I can't actually talk about details, but needless to say it was a very intense call. But beyond all that, for me, it was a remarkable affirmation of who I'm meant to be, of everything I'm meant to do. Because this was my second time going on an advo call, I was confident enough about where I was going and what I was doing that I could actually just settle in and trust my instincts. And as I've seen many times in the past, that's when I actually can do a good job. After the major portion of the call was over, I had a moment alone with the SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner), and even though throughout the call I thought I had been getting very mixed signals from her, she actually told me that I had done a really good job, and she was shocked that it was only my second call. Later, as I was spending a few final minutes with the survivor, she told me that I had made the whole process much easier for her and that she thought I would do a great job as a sex crimes prosecutor.
I'm not repeating all of this to try and toot my own horn or brag or whatever. It's just that as I'm getting deeper and deeper into the political world, I love remembering what my true calling is. And I need to remind myself that politics isn't it, as much as I may love this crazy world of American politics.
Oh, and by the way: I'm an American citizen now. It's very weird...
