People and Pages

To say that the past month has been busy is quite a bit of an understatement. What with finals, my internship at the Capitol and the approaching end of session, a team retreat here, and a roommate birthday there, this blog became like #109 on my list of priorities. To sum up the semester, how about some figures:

School:

5 page paper for political internship class

27 page paper for climate change science and policy

12 page paper for british history during the long nineteenth century

4 page paper on the Crystal Palace in regards to issues in 19th century art

12 page paper on indigenous rights in Guatemala for latin american cities

Approximately 60 pages written, along with one final exam, all during finals week. Phew. Finished...freedom. Huge exhale now.

Work:
Worked from 8 am to 5 pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And I think I worked about 60 days of the 180 day session that spans from January to Sine Die in May. What a truly great experience...I enjoyed the office I worked in, the people I met, the relationships I formed. It's pretty difficult to sum up, but here's an excerpt form my final paper which may help...

The Texas political realm is ultimately a separate world, and representatives seemingly live two separate lives—a Capitol life and a district life. Conversely, working at the Texas Capitol is also reminiscent of high school with the level of gossip, the unstated pressure to “dress to impress,” and various groups or cliques that form based on belief, preferred pastimes, and assigned committees. Moreover, politics within the Texas Capitol truly offers insight into the inner-workings of Texas government. As one who was relatively disinterested in politics prior to this internship, I now wholeheartedly believe in the necessity of public awareness of political issues and events.

But despite all of this work, I still managed to photograph a few things. Here's a montage.

Madison

The Duncan Fellows

Peter Middleton

Funchess Family

And then there were Engagement photos...

Sorry to tease you! I'm not sure if these will make the blog, but they are definitely gracing my portfolio.

So while this past semester has been utterly crazy, and life has been busy and messy and stressful, I have still found myself in taking photos of others. I am blessed to have captured some of these recent moments. Thank you for letting me tag along friends.