Go New York, Go New York Go!!!

Man, listen up. DC is a great city. It has its own attitude, and the people here are all about making moves. I like DC...I really do. However, I must say that when it comes to cities, there is only one: The Big Apple, babbby!!! I am not saying that there not other cities in the country; there definitely are. Chicago, city. Los Angeles, city. However, it stops there. Sorry, I forgot Boston. Boston is definitely a city. While places like Boise, ID, Cleveland, OH, and Birmingham, AL are technically “cities”, they can not hold a candle to the big three (or four). Rightfully so, these cities do not fall into the big city category.

Look at all those smiling faces!

Thank God for tall buildings!!

NY's finest

I did not realize how much I took NYC for granted until I came to DC. I can get anything in NYC; not to say that DC has nothing to offer, as it certainly has its fair share of quality places. But, it's the little things that get to me. It might sound funny, but I have been craving turkey chili. Sadly, when I ask for turkey chili in the District, people look at me like I have two heads. Com’ on people, turkey chili is a necessity; just like Starbucks. Speaking of Starbucks, the Starbucks shops throughout the District close rather early. So, if you’re need of your café mocha or caramel macchiato with extra caramel, do not expect to get one past 8pm.

Since we’re on the subject of cities, let me give my list of five things that separate real cities (i.e. NYC, LA, CHI-town, and maybe Boston) from the pretenders (i.e. everywhere else):

1. Real cities never sleep: If everything in your city shuts down before 2am, it’s not a real city.

2. People know where your city is: If you have to tell someone what city you’re from and they ask what state that city is in, then your city is not a real city.

3. People from real cities believe that their city is the only place in the country that really matters: If you don’t believe this, your city is not a real city.

4. Real cities have their own special something( NYC=Times Square, LA: Sunset Strip, Chi-town: cool architecture): If your city does not have something that sets it apart from every other place in the country, then it is not a real city.

Times Square!!!

5. Real cities have their the own language: People from LA speak differently than people from NYC, and the same goes for CHI-town. If your city does not have a distinctive accent or vocabulary, then, again, it is not a real city.

Grindin'

I can honestly say that I have never before been immersed in such intellectually stimulating work. Since I joined the Protection Project, I have been working on some amazing human rights issue, most importantly, human trafficking. I am not going to lie, sometimes I do get jealous of my roommates when they get to go to those fancy dinners and gourmet breakfasts. But, you know what? Nothing beats working with people that plan on changing the world. And, to top it off, I am never stuck with boring grunt work. I mean, I occasionally scan a document—and by occasionally I mean once since I have been here—but, hey, you need to get your hands dirty every once and a while. So, while those working on the Hill may enjoy a few perks here and there, in no way are they doing nearly half the quality of work as I am doing at TPP. So, they can enjoy their steak dinners and black tie banquets, I have my reports on human trafficking in Bangladesh to keep me satisfied!!

Where "saving the world" happens

And, I must say that the folks at TPP are amazing. For real, they are not paying me to say this. Sadly, they are not paying me at all. It’s all good, though. They are an amazing group of intelligent minds. Plus, each of the full time staff members are from a different country, so I get so many different perspectives about issues—not to mention, they’re all women. What could be better than working with a bunch of 20-somethings with beautiful foreign accents? Nothing!!!

Three of the coolest interns in the world

So if TPP comes up on your plate, give it some thought. The work is interesting, and the people are even better. For those of you thinking about future careers, give some thought to a career in human rights. It is highly unlikely that you will become rich, but I guarantee that you will leave work feeling better about yourself. Well at least until you see that rich guy driving his porch with the top down. But who cares? Consumerism is out of style anyway. So, hopefully when you are deciding where to start you career, a human rights group comes to mind.