I am 8 years old & visiting Washington, D.C., for the first time with my parents. My dad & I are sitting on a bench on the National Mall when a bird poops on his head. I am particularly enamored of public transit & of the Metro's colorful, extremely '90s logo. I write it all down in my diary, where I say that it is my favorite city in the world, as if I've been to others.
I am 14 years old, & my mom & I have taken my exchange student brother, who is from Peru, on a family vacation to Washington, D.C., so that he can see the U.S. capital while he's living here for the year. We visit the Air & Space Museum with my cousin, Patrick, & then we stand at the wrought-iron fence outside the White House, agog, in awe.
I am 21 years old & heading to D.C. for a summer work/study internship. I live in the dorms at George Washington University & intern with Family Equality & watch the fireworks over the Washington Monument while lying in the grass on the National Mall. I am obsessed with the peanut butter banana smoothie I buy for lunch every day near my office on K Street.
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I am 22 years old & driving into Washington, D.C., with my mother, who is attending a librarians' conference. I'm moving here later this summer, & we don't know much about the city yet, but we do know I don't want to live in the sweaty Eastern Market apartment we look at. When we eat dinner at a hotel restaurant, my mom screams upon spotting a rat scurrying into the bushes.
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I am 23 years old & graduated from college two days ago. Tomorrow, I start my new job as a legislative assistant for a progressive faith denomination, for whom I will focus on legislation related to civil rights & criminal justice. I don't know it yet, but the five other LAs with whom I work are about to become some of my best friends, & this year will be one of the best of my life.
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I am 24 years old & working as press secretary for the same faith denomination. My friends & I hold Hebrew signs for Barack Obama, & when he is named president-elect, we high-five strangers in the streets. Later, the cold January day when he is inaugurated president becomes the happiest day I have ever experienced; we end the night with margaritas at Lauriol Plaza.
I am 25 years old, same job, same place. My favorite aspect of my work is teaching at our weekend conferences, in which 300+ teens come to Washington, D.C., from all over the country to learn about social justice. We hold Havdalah at the Jefferson Memorial, & we take them to Capitol Hill to lobby their elected officials on environmental justice & reproductive choice.
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I am 34 years old, & I am in Washington, D.C., for a long weekend to staff a conference at the office where I used to work. Nancy Pelosi is a guest speakers, & my colleagues let me join their staff photo with her as if I belong. When it ends, I spend a week in a small AirBnB near my old stomping ground, exploring the city with my friend Arielle, as though I've never been.
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