Living My Best Life
- Brooklynn Cooper
- Jul 1, 2018
- 4 min read
As some of you probably know, I'm interning in Washington, D.C. this summer. I've been here almost a month now, and I only have a month left.
This is me, happy and healthy on campus at The George Washington University. I didn't plan on posting while here, but I'm the happiest I've ever been in a long time, and I wanted something to document that. Besides, the "worldwide" in "BK, Worldwide" includes the U.S. too, right?
Why are you so happy?
Well I'm glad you asked! The past four weeks have taught me a lot about myself: I've seen the potential I have as a professional journalist and also I've developed my interpersonal/relationship skills.
First let's talk about relationships. The program I've been blessed to be part of is a combination of an internship, university classes, and professional development workshops and seminars. Last summer I attended the National Association of Black Journalists' convention in New Orleans, and there I had the opportunity to network with hundreds of professional journalists from the local to international level. I ran into people like Tisha Powell and Robin Roberts. I spoke to these women, but I remember being extremely intimidated, downplaying my skills and successes, and thinking it was too early for me to start building relationships with professionals I admire.
Now, I attend seminars and lectures weekly, and I make it a point to talk to these professionals afterwards if they're impressionable. I've even exchanged a few business cards. I've noticed a growth in my confidence, but I also realized something that I should've last summer: these are just people! Every single one of the speakers I've met has been enthusiastic not only about meeting me and hearing about my goals and accomplishments, but they directed the same energy to all my peers. They. Want. To. Help. Us. I wish that's something I knew last year when I was shaking in my boots just thinking about approaching certain people. However, I'm glad I'm taking advantage of this opportunity now, and I'm even meeting with a few people for coffee next week!
These are my friends.
These are the people I look forward to seeing after working 9 to 5 every day and the people who make me laugh so hard I cry on the weekends. Just writing that made me sad because now I'm thinking about how little time we have left and how close we've all become in such a short period of time. But I love exploring D.C. with these guys and living in our little bubble of inside jokes and gym dates.
Starting from the bottom left, there's me. Beside me in the Patriots jersey is Jeff, who's kind of like my annoying little brother from San Antonio. He gets on my last nerve 24/7 and then loves to play victim when I clap back. Carlos is between us, and he's from the Bronx. I make too many Cardi B references with him, but I love him because he's super sweet and has such a genuine spirit. The guy at the top left is Sid. He's not someone that words can easily describe, but I'll say this: he's the type of person who thinks rats are just misguided (D.C. has a LOT of rats) and cute. Last but not least is Chandler, my roommate from Alabama. She hates that you can find a Tar Heel anywhere in the DMV by just throwing a rock, but she's the yin to my yang. We're both Tauruses except she's a cynical pessimist and I'm a happy-go-lucky optimist. Kristen is behind the camera, but you can see more pictures of us below.
Now let's talk about realizing my potential! I absolutely love my internship. I work at the Independent Journal Review, which is a digital-only news outlet that focuses on politics. My editors and coworkers are not only helpful and constructive leaders, but they're also incredibly cool. My editor is verified on Twitter and has 27k followers (follow him at @jbillinson!). The atmosphere and office space is friendly and every day I feel blessed when I think about how amazing my first internship outside of Chapel Hill is.
I'm also grateful because the staff believed in me enough to let me write articles for the site without having any prior professional writing experience. My work at The Daily Tar Heel was all either editing or graphic design, so my first ever published piece was at IJR! You can check out my articles here.
I remember my first day in D.C. when our program director said this would be the "best summer of our lives." Even though I didn't, I really wanted to roll my eyes because every program head uses that cliche for whatever program of which s/he is in charge. It's overused, but I get it. If I spent months planning an event, I'd really want people to enjoy it. But I didn't believe him. I knew I was going to have fun, but I definitely didn't think I'd wake up every day in an eternal state of euphoria. We're only halfway done, but this is the best summer of my life thus far.
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