"The world is a book and those who do not travel only read one page." - St. Augustine

Oh man, where do I begin? I haven't blogged in forever because it's been insane. Since I've been in DC I've come to many consensuses, but one main one is that I LOVE to travel places. (Others include increased patriotism, possibly working for the State Department, learning that I need to be more kind and it's okay to have different opinions from others as long as you are respectful).  Instead of curing me of the travel bug, I've just become more and more excited about it. 

I recently randomly came across my favorite book from sixth grade, All American Girl by Meg Cabot, at a coffee shop. I picked it up and was surprised to see that it was set in DC. It got me to thinking that even though I did not even know it, DC was a place I had longed to see for a long time. Basically, it made me happy to realize that Heavenly Father really does know me better than I know myself and that he helps guide me. Let's  just say I am re-reading it because it's such a gem. 

Anyways, let's get onto what I've been doing lately. 

• NEW YORK (Friday) . I DID IT FINALLY. Originally Chels and I were supposed to go stay with her friend, but on the Tuesday before we were supposed to leave, her friend let her know that she was going out of town. I literally started crying. I had a defeatist attitude that maybe New York and I were not meant to happen. But then my parents encouraged me to still go. So on Thursday, I basically planned a solo trip to New York. I went on a sketchy bus driven based in Chinatown where the driver blew through five cigarettes during the drive. On the plus side, an extremely attractive black man sat next to me and I had a good gospel conversation with him. I finally got to New York around 8 and practically ran to Times Square, but not before a drunk college man grabbed my butt. It's overwhelming. But seriously. It's so bright! I then walked all the way to Serendipity. On the way there, I saw the Rockefeller Center and Trump Tower. I felt like a loser asking just for one seat until I got to skip the huge line. I finally ate my frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity. I LOVED IT. Going here was worth the trip alone. While I was walking back, I saw the Plaza Hotel and had to call my family because of our mutual love of Home Alone 2. It felt surreal at this point. I made it on the right subway line and transferred to the right bus on my way to my hostel. And that's when things went bad. Because it was so dark and the bus driver was so rude, I got off two stops late. So here I am, in Queens, completely by myself in a dark part of town with no cars at midnight. Yeah. Sketch. Luckily for me, I called my dad and he used Google maps to guide me home. Dads are the best! :)
• Saturday in New York:  I woke up, and attempted to get into the Wicked lottery. I also bought a pound of purple peanut M&Ms (which I may have eaten all of them that day). I headed down to the 9/11 memorial where I accidentally brought Chels' pocket knife. Yeah. I really loved that memorial. It was perfect. I then walked down so I could see the Statue of Liberty. It was so cool to finally see one of our national treasures! I then walked to the Brooklyn Bridge, stopping to see Wall Street. I LOVED the bridge. It was a really cool experience.  I then walked around Central Park feeling pretty hipster. I was dead tired, but still made time for some cheesecake at Magnolias and Ray's pizza. I made it to my hostel safely that night.
• Sunday in New York:  I woke up bright and early and headed to church in the Manhattan temple. That was a pretty cool experience. I've never had the opportunity to even be inside any room other than the baptismal font in any other temple, so it was pretty neat. Then came the second best part of the trip: Tom's Restaurant from Seinfeld. I had the best chicken salad and pretty much gushed the whole time about how much I loved it here. IT WAS FANTASTIC. After that, I headed to the Met, saw a bunch of Tiffany glass windows and my favorite painting. Anyways, I made it back to DC and I can say I was happy to return! Although I am glad I got to finally do all these bucket list items, I'd have to say I did not love New York. It is too busy, crowded and rude. In general, DC has so many more cool places to go and see. 

• Valley Forge/Philadelphia Excursion. Last Friday, the group headed out to Valley Forge. I'm going to be honest. I literally had no clue what happened there. But it was really cool because it was so beautiful, and I learned all about the history. I saw some of the fields where the Americans camped, George Washington's headquarters and a beautiful arch monument. I really enjoyed it. We returned, had some delicious dinner and then came up with the idea of having a dance party. No one, myself included, want to ask the people in charge (we were staying at this lodge kind of place) if we could borrow speakers. But then Jeremy and his wife started chanting "Hillary" and I took charge. I asked the guy if we could have a dance party and he busted out laughing. Apparently, EVERY single BYU group has asked the same thing. He remarked that he had seen "more Mormons dance than any other religion." He asked if I could help him grab the speakers and then asked me if my name was Hillary. I cracked up and told him that people call me that because I have the same personality as her. He just started laughing and said that he was an INTJ too. It was hilarious talking to him! We talked about how we also have the same personality as Stalin, but that we never mention that to other people. Anyways, a few of us danced the night away Mormon style and it was great. We got up and drove to Philadelphia where I saw pretty much everything I've ever wanted to see! I saw the Liberty Bell, toured Independence Hall, cried during the presentation at the Constitution Center (because I was feeling so patriotic) saw the Love Statue, went to the Reading Market, ate a philly cheesesteak (without cheese of course), ran the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art pretending to be like Rocky. Basically the day consisted of me feeling like I was in National Treasure and being so proud to be an American. I also got to read a lot of Condoleeza Rice's memoir and she is a BOSS. Anyways, it was a good brief trip. 
• Chels' parents came into town and treated us all to seeing a performance of Hello Dolley at Ford's theater. I felt so cool attending an actual play there. We also ate at the best Italian restaurant EVER. It was good to meet them! 
• I also went to some of the final museums I hadn't been to: the Portrait Gallery, American Art and the Crime and Punishment Museum. I loved all of them, especially seeing Joseph Smith's portrait and cracking open a safe. I'm going to miss all these museums. 
• My boss. She's the best. I could go on for oodles why, but basically it can be summed up with the fact that she's an INTJ too. She is a boss. (haha pun). And she totally understands me and is one of the best mentors I've ever had.  She also gives the best pump up speeches. I might cry when I have to say goodbye. Anyways, I  mentioned that I would "name my child Scott because of my love of F. Scott Fitzgerald" to my boss... and it turns out she lives right next to where he is buried (Rockville, Maryland). So after work, she bought me a ticket on the train to come see it! She is seriously the best! We also drove to this gorgeous historical mansion, where I found this beautiful garden that reminded me of Secret Garden. 
• I have a new found desire to work for the State Department. This may have stemmed from my love of Hillary Clinton and from reading (and falling in love with) Condoleeza Rice's memoir. So we'll see how that goes. I'll keep you all posted. 
• I watched both the BBC and Keira Knightley version of Pride and Predujice and Sense and Sensibility. So basically, I may have become more obsessed with Jane Austen than I had been originally. Just waiting on my Mr. Dary/Colonel Brandon. 

Here are some things I saw in my adventure in New York/ Valley Forge/Philadelphia:

I saw my favorite painting in real life at the Met! 

Rockefeller Center 

Finally made it! 

Documentation that dreams come true! 

Times Square! 

Finally saw the Statue of Liberty!

9/11 memorial 

Brooklyn Bridge 

Central Park!

Manhattan Temple 

The restaurant from Seinfeld. I was in heaven. 

Valley Forge 

Practicing being a judge! :)

Independence Hall. I felt like National Treasure. 

Finally saw the other mint. 

Love statue in Philadelphia. 

Being Rocky. 

Liberty Bell 

Outside the Supreme Court 

Candace, me (the BFG), Luisa and Lanae in the Supreme Court. 

Painted my classic John Sherman egg for Easter. 

F. Scott Fitzgerald's grave-site 

So yeah. I'm living the high life. I just realized I only have 9 more days of work and 16 days left in DC. I might cry. And by might, I actually will. I cannot believe my time here has gone by so quickly. I am just so so so so so so so so so so (times infinity) thankful for all the opportunities I've had while I was here. 

My new jam is OneRepublic's "I Lived" because it represents my view of my life right now:

love love love (as an aside, only 66 days until Taylor's concert),

Kels