Newest Virginia Resident

Over 20 people are buried in Arlington Cemetery a DAY.

By 2050 the Arlington Cemetery will be full.

A smarttrip card really does get you on every form of transportation available here.

Back during the draft, you could not join if you had flat feet or missing more than 3 teeth.

After flying from Kansas City to North Carolina and then switching planes and landing in Maryland to drive to Arlington, Virginia I am finally here.

Right now I feel like my biggest obstacle is my living conditions. Don't get me wrong, I am very grateful for my room and they are family. But here is the catch. They are my great aunt and uncle that I have never met before. I am excited to learn the history and knowledge of the wars. But afraid of imposing and being a bothersome.

My uncle (Jack) was drafted and in the first platoon that attacked Normandy. He is full of knowledge and history about the Wars and the history of Arlington/Washington D.C.

My aunt well she has been very open, but is also what scares me the most. She has dementia and constantly forgets who or why I am here and repeats a lot of her stories. I feel like I am intruding on her and her house.

Since being here I have officially seen the U.S. Capital, The White House, Lincoln Memorial (but not very much and from a distance), Arlington Cemetery along with the Unknown Soldiers tomb, The Reflection Pool, The Washington Monument and The Smithsonian Castle.

Although I have seen them all I plan on touring them all to gain more information and be able to say I know more instead of just saying I have seem them. Yesterday, my mom and I went to the Arlington Cemetery and we thought we had seen it all. The Unknown Soldiers tomb, changing of the guards and J.F. K grave but once we left we realized there was much more that we did not see. I plan on going back and getting a real tour as well as going back on Memorial Day to see every tomb with an American flag by it.

And it is true... The White House really does have snipers on top!

I have just seen the outside of everything but want to see the insides. Almost everything here is free to tour and since I am here I might as well use my time to tour.

As for work.. I start in a week. Saturday night my mom and I met my boss for dinner. He showed us around the office I will be working in and showed some sample work. I am nervous to start but I know I will learn a lot. With that said, let me explain what I will be doing. I will be working for the Department of Defense Education Activities. This is a government job set up for when families get deployed. Soldiers have the chance to take their families with them and their children have the opportunity to get a U.S. education. The education is provided on-line and their school work follows them. At my job, we film, edit and post on the Internet, talk shows, PSA's, etc to get the students more engaged with the school and to learn more about options and what is going on in the U.S. Each employee rotates jobs so I will be directing, filming and editing while here.

My boss seems super nice and very eager to teach me new things. I will be using top of the line equipment and having a lot of one-on-one time. I will also get the chance to meet high ranking people like Colin Powell and also get a personal tour of the Pentagon.

This morning my mom left to head back home. When I woke up she was gone. We thought that would be easier on me. I had a hard time dealing with her not being here when I woke up. I am now by myself; in a world that I am still not very familiar with, with family I still do not know and still here not knowing anyone else. My mom was my comfort and now she is gone. I have to face this all by myself and start learning how to be on my own more than just gone to college.

I am very afraid of the next 13 weeks, but I know that I will gain a lot of knowledge, experience and memories if I do not shut myself out from the opportunities.

The United States Capital

Arlington Cemetery

The Unknown Soldiers Tomb

The White House (with a sniper on top)