Quarter Life Crisis Part 1

I am obsessed with winning. Unfortunately, my political record doesn't reflect this. Like my fantasy leagues this year, I am mediocre at best. 1-2.

2008 (primary) L
2010 (primary) W
2012 (general) L
2014 (general) ?

The good news (if you want to look at it that way)... is that I'm not on the record this year. This midterm I'm like a cheerleader - Ra ra sis boom ba gooooooooooo individual liberties and the free market! This year I focus on turning out strong support among my peers on issue based voting.

This year I can't lose. I also can't win and it's driving me crazy.

The funny thing about growing older and wiser is that I prefer to place the emphasis on being wiser.

A college junior in New Hampshire recently told me he thought I looked 30. I'm 25 for the record, and had that punk not been volunteering at my call bank I would have publicly shamed him on Yik Yak. Because I'm an adult, I just told him I thought he looked 17.

I still get the fabulous luxury of field work this cycle, as you can tell from above mentioned supporter.

Carpetbagger, establishment hag, and ginger bitch - come to mind as favorite nicknames adorned from the campaign trail. And that was friendly fire. Can you imagine why no normal women want to run for office?

Campaigns are the worst thing and the best thing. People that chose to work on campaigns are self-inflicting, self-important, self-deprecating, selfish-- lucky bastards and I'm so jealous so they can all just shut up already.

It's war. And your coworkers go to battle with you every day. I'd say it's a noble job, but it's not. It's keeping volunteers on script and keeping the crazy county party from annexing themselves from the state party because they feel they haven't received the appropriate amount of campaign bumper stickers.

"Bush '04 gave us bumper stickers AND yard signs!"

Entitled comes to mind... This is why we can't have nice things.

I suddenly remember why it's so nice having a steady desk job. Quarter life crisis, you'll just have to wait while I'm paving the way to electoral victory in 2016. Sometimes breaks are good.

I'll take the next few weeks on the road to suck in all that campaign field work has to offer - without any of the worrying over hypotheticals where I end up with another "L" on my record and jobless. And, of course, have a few laughs at the newbies expense.

Oh my god, we have to shift resources? The sky is falling.

Impulsive Behavior

One day I got it in my head that I was going to move abroad. So, I quit my job ambitions for Washington, D.C. and booked a flight to Amsterdam in the Fall. I've temporarily changed careers: politics for film making. Why not - I'm young and have time on my side. I need a better perspective on life. I need to meet new characters with different points of view and stories I have never heard before. The chance to say I threw my hands up in the air once and let go! The strangest thing is I'm not worried in the slightest. --This coming from the girl who over thought her political career moves at the age of 17. I've strategically planned my job moves from Senator's offices and state campaigns to working for political parties and lobbying firms.

I hit a wall this Summer and I need to step back and reassess. I've learned a lot about myself over the past few years. Most importantly I learned what I gain the most happiness from: my friends and family. There has been a disconnect between what I have been working towards and what I value in life. People matter to me and there was a time when I believed politics was the best venue for me to work in to impact the most lives. I remember telling people when asked why I wanted to go into politics that, "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em". A month ago I realized something while desperately trying to make sense of my purpose here in Washington: I've been saying that line for 4 years and the obvious flaw in my logic just hit me! "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em".... it never occurred to me that I never tried to beat the system by going off in my own endeavors!!! ::facepalm::

I believe now more than ever that film, communications, and multimedia are my outlets to changing lives. I want to bridge the gap between cultural differences, show the good things in life, offer hope and solutions! There is so much I could do... and trust me my brain is moving at 100 miles a minute in thinking everything up. I guess my future is in my impulsive behavior and thank God I realized this now before I wasted any more time. :)

Lights, Camera, ACTION!

I have a wonderful announcement! This has been in the works for a while now, but I'm going public with the information because I just can't contain myself any longer... I, along with my partner in crime Fred Vaillant, will be embarking on the adventure of our lives in Europe come October! Together we will making a documentary about our generation's innovative ability to adjust to changing economic environments while showing our generation's transcending optimistic views of the future ahead across international borders. We are beyond excited for this venture & appreciate all the encouragement we've already received from our friends! I will keep you posted on updates related to the film's progress as they develop!

& as always your input is greatly appreciated! Credit will be given where credit is deserved :)