The beginning of the end...for now.

It seems like I always start up this blog to record about an adventure and then I am having to write the wrap up. Time always flies and it only grows faster with every year. This trip has been the combination of personal growth and professional achievement. I've been able to see and do things that I've always wanted to. I've seen some of my dreams fulfilled, but I've also discovered a few new ones. While it's always hard to end adventures, I'm grateful for what I've learned, who I have met and what I've felt. Here are some highlights (or you can jump to the photos afterwards):
-attending a Civil War funeral at Arlington National Cemetery for two sailors from the USS Monitor
-attending the 2nd Inauguration of President Obama
-working at the Library of Congress
-holding Woodrow Wilson's Nobel Peace medallion
-visiting Gettysburg (which is better than any amusement park I have been to)
-walking around Valley Forge and Philadelphia
-falling in love with another ship-this time it's the cruiser USS Olympia
-celebrating President's Day at Mt Vernon
-finding my favorite band from Greenland. I got to hear Nanook play at the Kennedy Center
-discovering new restaurants like Byblos Greek Deli
-visiting the White House, Smithsonian museums, monuments
-watching history happen:protests for immigration, gay marriage, guns, etc. You name it, I saw it protested.
-read to elementary school children for Dr. Seuss Day
-bought and learned to play a fife
-practiced piano almost every other day
-enjoyed walks along the Potomac and watching the water go by
-was able to finish several books
-being able to go into the main reading room at the Library of Congress and looking down from the windows across the entire Mall

It may seem like some of the items are boring or everyday, but they provided needed relief from days that went long at work or went late because of homework. While the big and exciting will be some of the things that I first remember, it will also be the small, quiet moments that will be what helped cement the experience.
I learned a lot this past semester, not just about history and library sciences, but also about myself. It was good to hear lots of opinions and views and be able to decide what I believe and what I want to do in the world. While I will miss many things, I can't wait to see what life brings just over the next horizon.