The Office

Today I began my internship at the office of Congressman Rothman of New Jersey's 9th district.

My shift was 9-5. I showed up at 8:40, suit and tie, expecting...something different.
I did not expect to be sitting in a white, beige, and...white 10x10x10. I did not expect to be confined to a desk and chair, listening to phones ring, hearing over and over and over and over this phrase that would become all too common within 8 hours: "Congressman Rothman's office, this is Blank, how may I help you?" (I hear this greeting everywhere now. Cows do not moo, sheep do not baa, dogs do not bark anymore. They Congressman Rothman's office, this is Blank, how may I help you?) 

No. My first day at the office wasn't at all what I expected.

It was better. Much better.

Although the first few hours at the office were slower than a fat kid's metabolism, the rest of my shift went by too quickly. I was enjoying it too much. I enjoyed the environment that I was in, the people that surrounded me. I no longer asked God to grant me independence from the white and beige 10x10x10, or to deafen me from "Congressman Rothman's office..." I embraced these things instead. Jason, the intern coordinator - or was his name Jeremy? - facilitated my adaptation into my new habitat. His humor, similar to mine, allowed me to relax and become comfortable with the environment that I had previously been virgin to.

What I enjoyed most about my first day was, not Jason's humor or my quick adaptation to The Office, but the realization that all politics is indeed local. For 8 hours, I was surrounded by men and women who shared my same passion: public service. And for 8 hours, I watched and listened as this group of men and women worked together to better the general public. They were like the New England Patriots. With Jason as Tom Brady (except not nearly as good-looking), the Patriots of 25 Main Street locked arm in arm and walked forward in a great Friday morning showcase. It is people like Jason, the everyday workers, that make America the great democratic nation that it is.

Yes. The first day at the office was indeed unexpected.