Yesterday, the third day of the conference, was one that I was looking forward to for a long time. I had the privilege of hearing influential journalist speak at the National Press Club. While some say that this society has lost value, I strongly disagree. Walking through those doors was magical, and knowing that so many inspirational people, not exclusively journalists, have walked through those doors just like I did, was exhilerating.

I intend to come back to this post to go into more detail within the next week as the experience settles in more. There are many jobs that I have considered in this general field: foreign correspondent, White House correspondent, Press Secretary, Senator, President, the list goes on. While Ms. Leinwand had made her case that being a foreign correspondent was the perfect job for me the previous night, I was very excited to hear from two Chief White House correspondents, Chuck Todd from MSNBC, and Jessica Yellin from CNN, accompanied by a POLITCO writer Jonathan Martin. The way they described writing news that effects political decisions directly, was fascinating. Their predictions for the future of journalism, their personal stories of achievements, and their general passion for the jobs, was inspiring. I was so honored to have them share their insights with me, as well as my peers, and their knowledge of journalism influenced me to strive for more, and to work even harder to get a job in the journalism and political fields.

Next came Hoda. Ms. Hoda Kotb is a pistol to say the least. I had no idea what a following she had! I had started reading her book about a week ago and found myself loving every minute of it. She sympathized with her audience, was simple and direct, and made me laugh with every page. She is the definition of a self-starter, getting rejected 27 times for her first job, completely slaughtering her first attempt at anchoring the evening news, and so on and so forth. However, now she has two incredible jobs at NBC, working for Dateline and the Fourth Hour of NBC’s Today with Kathie Lee Gifford. Surviving breast cancer and a divorce in one year seem like minor speed bumps in her incredible life. She is an inspiration for a girl like me, with a lot of self doubt. She is who she is because of her strength and her honesty, and that is something I admire so greatly in a person.

As it is getting late here, and tomorrow I have a HUGE day ahead of me, I will report on the fourth and fifth days tomorrow!

Driving in from Fairfax, Virginia, we passed many of the famous monuments that DC has to offer. Let me tell you that they do not in any way, shape, or form resemble the images on google or in a movie. They are ornate, eminent pieces of architecture that took my breath away. I was overwhelmed with the sort of giddiness that a five year old gets when they first see the ears of Mickey Mouse at Disneyland. It has always been my dream to come to DC, to work in DC, and now that I was finally having the chance to experience DC, I was in complete bliss.

The Newseum is almost too much to describe. I certainly did not get my fix of the Newseum, and will certainly be returning there as soon as I possibly can. We entered a news room where many different news programs are taped after museum hours, and I got the pleasure of sitting behind the desk with a friend, looking like a real anchorwoman! But this elated feeling didn’t last for very long, as our next stop was the exhibit for the Pulitzer Prize winning photos from the last few decades. Why is it that tragedy is what sells? Or that tragedy is the thing most photographed for news? I found myself contemplating how tragic the world really is. I managed to go through this exhibit almost in silence, which for me, is quite a challenge. I encounter people on a daily basis who want to change the world for the better, and often accomplish those goals, but there is always more tragedy to be seen.

There were many pictures that certainly made me uncomfortable, but one photograph in particular really made my stomach turn.”Orphans of Addiction” depicted a woman shooting heroin up her arm, with her daughter wilting in a chair behind her. Growing up in a nurturing and loving home, seeing an image like this, shakes me to my core. How could a mother abandon her child that way? She may be physically present in her child’s life, but in a way that is so disturbing, that it brought hot, angry tears to my eyes. I was so emotionally struck by this photo that I found it hard to look away, but decided to turn my back on it and move forward. There were so many photos in that gallery, such as a picture taken at the Columbine Massacre, that really hit close to home, as well as a child in Sudan, hunched over, crying and fighting for his life, while a vulture sat closely behind him, waiting patiently for the young child’s death. These photos were stationary examples of the gifts in my life. Who cares if my feet were sore from walking around a museum all day? I have the wonderful privilege of visiting a museum! I am so unbelievably grateful for the opportunities presented to me, and for all the wonderful aspects of my life.

There is a room in the Newseum that is filled with newspaper clippings that date all the way back to the 1400s. I walked into that room with purpose and a grin from ear to ear. I looked at almost every single article that was displayed. Clippings from newspapers reporting the Boston Tea Party, The Trail of Tears, Kennedy’s assassination, and Nixon’s resignation were all in one giant room. I was on cloud nine. The history junkie that I am, was in heaven! I loved every second of this, so much so that I missed the most exciting part of the entire exhibit. The Watergate Door. My favorite scandal! I was so disappointed that I vowed I would go back solely to see that part of the exhibit.

As I stated before, I am obsessed with history. It is my favorite subject in school (English is a close second) and I can’t get enough of it. Naturally, I absolutely loved seeing portions of the Berlin Wall. Looking through my camera, I have the most pictures of that exhibit. One of my favorite things in the world is learning about something, and then experiencing it right away. I just learned about the Berlin Wall this past year in school, and then I got to see part of it in person!

While the Newseum was definitely a highlight of the trip thus far, the evening programming provided incredible opportunity as well. I had the pleasure of listening to two wonderful speakers. The one who made the most impact by far, was Donna Leinwand. She is a foreign correspondent for USA Today, with a zest for life and a passion for her job. She walks into a room, and immediately you respect her. After she spoke, I confronted her and told her a little about myself and my dreams for my future. She responded my giving me her card and saying, “Email me, I want to talk to you about this. We’ll talk.” WHAT?! SHE wants to talk to ME? Wow. I ran out the door and skipped all the way to my room. This was another one of those moments when you fist pump, dance, sing, and giggle, because you just got hit in the face with the door that is your future.

Immediately after arriving at George Mason University, I was commanded to put on “business casual attire” which is the same as fancy clothes. We broke out into group sessions and talked about expectations and all the orientation stuff.

After dinner, we had the pleasure of hearing from Chris Cillizza, whose blog “The Fix” is the blog for the Washington Post.

I idolize the Washington Post due to the fact that I idolize Woodward and Bernstein, so to me, he is gold.

This conference is incredible. I looked over the schedule for the next four days over and over again, because it’s absolutely packed with opportunities that I could never have imagined I would experience.

I wish I could write more, but running on an hour of sleep is not compliant with writing well. I plan on writing in more depth tomorrow after I return from the Newseum!