I was accepted to the Petraeus class! Next semester, I'll be taking a course titled "The Upcoming (North) American Decade(s)?" That's right, the course title includes two sets of parenthesis and a question mark. That's how you know it is going to be a rough class. I had applied last semester and was rejected, but I decided to throw my pride out the window and try again. I did do one thing rather differently in my application. Rather than talking about what I hoped to learn from the course, I talked up my strengths. I'm not often one to brag about my abilities, but I've had it beat in to my head over the past year that I need to do that when I apply for things. Shameless self-promotion is the key, ladies and gentlemen. Humility is cute, but not when you want to be better than everyone else. And in Macaulay, that's a challenge.
I got the syllabus about two days ago, and it is intense. 142+ pages of reading for "Class Zero" which is the first time we meet. Two major projects, approximately 150 pages of reading a week, three group discussions, and a few smaller presentations.
So now I need to present all these things in front of Retired Four-Star General David Petraeus. I have to do it in front of the man my father spent most of my childhood raving about. His books line the shelves in my house. My dad wrote a paper on him once, for some sort of command school. (I was young and didn't care so I don't remember.) He's a hero in my house. Both of my parents are in the military. My dad is a Lieutenant Colonel and my mom is a Sergeant Major, so Petraeus coming to teach at their daughter's school was a very big deal. My dad is a very stoic man, but when I called him to tell him I got in, he was shouting he was so proud. I think he was more proud of that than of anything I've ever done before - and that includes getting myself into Macaulay. Learning from him is going to be amazing - as will the discussion with my fellow students. I plan to keep you all updated on that class, since this is a big deal for Macaulay.
Additionally, I got an internship! I'm an intern for the City of New York Law Department, working with the Juvenile Delinquency portion of the Family Court system. I'll start on January 6th, working after my winter classes finish for the day, but before my night Moot Court Sessions. I'll be doing case research, contacting police officers, talking with lawyers about case strategy, helping to file motions, sitting in on witness interviews, and basically getting to be a fly on the wall in the juvenile justice system. I've got my own ID card and everything! I've got to pass through Security checks! I walk past courtrooms! The building is swarming with Cops! If that doesn't scream "You've made it", I don't know what does.
Two interesting points:
1. Study your interview etiquette. Halfway through my second interview for this position, I forgot the name of the gentleman interviewing me. And since we were just in any empty office, there was nowhere for me to look. I'd like to think I saved it nicely by simply calling him "sir" at the end of the interview. I have never felt so embarrassed however, to realize that I couldn't even be trusted to remember someones name for longer than a half an hour.
2. Don't overlook opportunities that don't come from administration. Some kids forget that there are places other than the Macaulay officials to find connections for internships. For example, my friend Michael is a large reason why I landed the internship I have now. He applied last year, and has been working there all semester. Since he was a wonderful intern, they asked him for a recommendation for a new intern. Being the sweetheart he is, he remembered that I was interested in law and a decently competent individual, so he gave my resume to the appropriate individuals... and here I am!
Secret Santa! My friends and I organized a really cute event where we did a little gift exchange. I got my friend Dan, and he is one of the easiest people to shop for. All I had to get him was Sriracha sauce and Cosmic Brownies- his two favorite foods. He was thrilled to death, especially since I drew a very bad giraffe on the card. He applauded my efforts. My friend Sam had to purchase for me, so I got really good gifts. He got me the Sleeping Beauty VHS ( yes I still have a VHS player), painted 3 beautiful cards for me, got me mad fuzzy socks, and wrapped it all in bubble wrap and a bandana. The bubble wrap was because I had mentioned how much I love it, and the bandana because I constantly complain about how hard it is to tie my hair up since I cut it. He also included a lesson on how to use it, since I have absolutely no ability to do anything with my hair, even as simple as tying it up.
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