Summer 2012 : D.C.

I want to be a writer.

It's becoming clearer to me, what I want to do with my life. Write. I don't know where, or how, or what kind of job I want as a writer. I want to be a poet like Jane Kenyon, and I want to be a writer like Marilynne Robinson. I love words, and I love the universal ability to communicate with so many different kinds of people. I love helping others discover the beauty of this world.

This summer, I will be in Washington D.C., interning at the Washington Times. Whenever I think of D.C., I think of bleached white buildings, warm sunshine, late afternoon shadows, and Peregrine Espresso in Eastern Market. Soon, my memories will include a 40-hour job, a twice-daily commute, and weekends spent roaming the city sidewalks. I am thrilled to spend my summer there.

More than the city itself, I find myself more and more excited to have free evenings and weekends, and time all to myself. Sometimes it can be a daunting thing, wondering if I will be lonely after just two days in a big city without any close friends. But you should see my reading list - I will never be lonely.

I am anticipating a city of inspiration, and a summer to discover and write, and edit, and re-write, and discover more. Yesterday I woke up with the realization that I will never run out of things to learn. Even my Constitution reading was fun after I allowed that realization to sink in. I want to write about home, beauty, education, womanhood, domesticity, and the common grace infused in each moment. I want to find inspiration in my nightly meals, in the sidewalk cafes, and in my Sunday morning walk to church. I want to find inspiration in my boss, my job, my coworkers, and in commuters on the train. I want to find inspiration in the blue skies, fireworks over the Capitol dome, and in the little coffee shop down the street.

Maybe when I leave the city in August, I will be a little bit more of a writer. The more I know of life, the more I love it and the more I want others to love it.

And the more I write, the more I want to write, and keep writing.