Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and by “Smith”, I mean “Orr”
Friends,
I write to let you know that in January I will be moving to Washington DC to begin an internship on Capitol Hill. Anyone that knows me, knows that I love politics so this is an exciting direction for me. There are many details that I don’t know (specific dates, whose office) but I do know that I’ll be working with a representative from Texas on either the House or Senate side.
I wanted to go ahead and address a few questions you may have-
When will you be leaving? - I’m not sure but it will be anytime after the first week in January, likely through the third week.
When will you come back? – That is uncertain. If I were offered a full time position, that would be something I would strongly consider. I love politics, and from my experience, I love DC so living there is not something out of consideration. There are many jobs that I could see myself doing so it depends on opportunities that are available in May.
What about school? Are you planning on finishing? – Yes! In fact, I’ll be done in December but in order to do this program, I had to postpone receiving my diploma by a semester but regardless of this internship, I’ll be ready to graduate.
Most representatives from Texas are Republicans but you’re a Democrat, how will that work? – I’ve thought a lot about this. There are several aspects- First, as an intern; there are few areas that my personal political opinions will matter. I do not have this romanticized view of the Senator and I sitting down and tackling Washington’s problems. This is a great way for me to get my foot in the door so it seems dumb not to take it. I have requested to work with one of the more moderate representatives but I will serve faithfully, regardless of the political ideologies of that person.
How many internships is this? Are you ever going to get married, buy a house and have 2.5 children? – Fair. I’m not sure that I will ever have the American dream as many wish I would pursue but this internship is hardly the “fun, cool experience” , although I do hope it is those things, it is more of a chance for me to get my foot in the door in the field that I studied and enjoy. This is not another thing to keep from growing up but, hopefully, the first step of doing so.
What about your job at The Village? I will be resigning from that position. My time at The Village has been great and I leave there with nothing negative to say. If I’m living in the area, I couldn’t imagine another church I want to be a part of. I’m not sure about when my last day will be but it will either be the very end of December or sometime in early January.
You’ve been talking about Fort Worth for years, what about that? I don’t know, and I wish I did. I still love that city, I love the people in it and most of the friends that I hope to be friends with in 25 years live there. At this point, where I will be living in May is still up in the air. If it is in the DFW area, it will hopefully be Fort Worth but if I hope to pursue my political career, Fort Worth will not be where that can be done.
Now that you’ll be working in Washington, what are your thoughts on (Insert topic from political chain email)? – Whatever you’ve learned in one of these email(either liberal or conservative) is probably not true or exaggerated to a point it is no longer true. I hope, for all that is good and holy, that these emails stop being sent around one day. They disrespect those in office and add very little to intelligent discourse in this country.
For those of you reading this, I’m glad that we’ve been able to do life together for as long as we have. I ask that you be praying for me during this time of transition. I excited about this and if there are any more questions or you just want to hear more about it, please do not hesitate to contact me.
America # 1,
Josh Orr