We arrived in New York City on May 27, 2018. May 28, 2018 we attended orientation, making ourselves familiar with the city, grocery shopping, and a walking tour filled the day. The next day I began work at Brooklyn Defender Services at 9 am. This meant I needed to wake up at 8 am to be at work on time. If I’m being honest, I can’t remember the last time I woke up at 8 am for class. So far, throughout my college career, I have made sure my classes were later in the day because I know myself.
When I was told I needed to be at work at 9 am, I cringed. My parents had already explained to me that the “real world” did not operate on the same schedule that I did, and I knew this. I knew that there would be adjustments I needed to make, but I didn’t think they would be this drastic.
Leading up to leaving for New York City, I was staying awake until 3 or 4 am for no reason. Whether it was watching Netflix or talking to friends abroad with hours of time difference, I was awake. By the time Monday night rolled around, I don’t think I stayed awake past 11 pm because of how tired I was. The ironic thing was that I had not even started the 9am-5pm yet.
Fast forward to the end of the first full week, and I was exhausted. 9am-5pm I was at Brooklyn Defender Services sitting in on court cases, accompanying lawyers to site visits, transcribing records, creating summer events brochures for clients, and many more things. Words can’t describe how excited and thankful I am to be working at this organization, already. The people I have interacted with have left an impact on me, whether they recognize this or not. The clients I have interacted with have ignited a spark in me that I didn’t know was there.
5pm – until, I was either interacting with other Moxie girls discussing how our days were or attending structured events with our site coordinator, such as a screening of the RBG movie or a self-defense class. Regardless of what I was doing, my brain was constantly being challenged to think in new ways. Specifically with our readings and discussion, I felt like my way of thinking was being challenged in good ways.
Going into this program, I knew that I wouldn’t work 9am-5pm and call it a day. I knew that I would be challenged outside of work, but I didn’t know it would be 24/7. I imagine reading this you are thinking this has to be one of the worst things ever, and that I am in New York City and should be enjoying what the city has to offer. The thing is I don’t mind attending work and then exploring new concepts and ideas.
During our reflection dinner, we discussed the idea that humans tend to want to turn off or ignore the needs of others, if they are not in constant contact with them. This past week has challenged me to not feel the need to be in contact with someone or something in order to want to change the way our society functions. The constant questioning of everything is something I am grateful for because it is something that needs to take place. As humans, we need to push beyond what we are comfortable with and question the way our society is set up. This is not to say that nothing in our society is good, but there is always room for improvement. We should surround ourselves with people who challenge us in order to see real changes being made. I already know the next seven weeks are going to be some of the most intellectually stimulating weeks I have experienced, and I am up to the challenge.
