Amira Abdelwahab: A Wharf in Virginia

I am alone traveling to a place I never been, 18 miles away in Virginia, leaving the safety of my Washington townhouse. I look at the taxi driver and try to understand how I got here.

This story starts where my biggest journey ended. I had just finished one of the most important chapters of my life; my internship on Capitol Hill. My internship introduced me to a learning environment where my coworkers were patient and kind. They all taught me something different about myself or of the life I wanted to have. My coworkers opened me up to a new realm of possibilities that my future could hold. They did this by teaching me professional skills, giving me numerous opportunities to network, and most importantly treating me, an intern, as an equal by trusting my decisions. Saying goodbye to this life I had made and the people I had met was beyond difficult. I was leaving the environment that had allowed me to grow into a new me. I was afraid that when I left my internship and Washington I would leave behind this part of myself that I had found.

The Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.

It had been a few days since I left the Hill and I was still in Washington. I had one more day before my family would make the long drive toward D.C. to pick me up and to ship my new life away in boxes back to South Carolina. So, I woke up that morning planning on packing up my belongings and watch Netflix for a while. I was just going to let me last day in D.C. fade away and let myself remember my office life for my final memories of Washington. As I went to the kitchen I started gathering my dishes and cleaning supplies. All I could think was “this is how I am going to spend my last day”. Some of my housemates were in New York, some still at their internships, and others were packing boxes like me. I wanted to go somewhere but everyone else was away or too busy to come anywhere with me. As a middle child I have always had someone to experience life with. Going to D.C. was my first time being “alone” but even then, I quickly made friends so I wouldn’t be in the situation I am now where I don’t want to go somewhere alone. As I continue to pack my kitchen supplies I keep thinking to myself “this is how I am going to spend my last day”. I just finished the kitchen supplies and moved on to pack my closet. When I went to look at my clothes something came over me and instead of packing them I began to change my clothes. I put my sweater and boots on and when out into the cold winter day to call a taxi.

I had no idea where I should go yet but as I waited on my taxis the destination became clear; Mount Vernon. I talked about Mt. Vernon daily on my capitol tours and had always longed to visit. The taxis came and I got in and told the driver where I wished to go. He said it will be an hour drive and I, still swept up in the high of going somewhere spontaneously, said “perfect” and the journey began.

Mount Vernon in Virginia

It took about twenty minutes for that high to ware off and for my regret to kick in. I am alone traveling to a place I never been, 18 miles away in Virginia, leaving the safety of my Washington townhouse. I look at the taxi driver and try to understand how I got here. Why did I pick to go to a different state and not just stay in the Washington area? I had already informed my housemates that I was going (hoping someone would want to come) so I couldn’t quit now. So, I sucked it up and made it to my destination.

When I exited the taxi, I noticed that the place wasn’t very crowded for a Saturday afternoon. It was probably because it had just snowed the day before and the temperature was extremely cold. I pulled my jacket closer to me and nervously made my way to the front. I bought my ticket and when into the unknown alone. I first stopped to watch an informational video about George Washington’s life. In the theater I sat by myself near a group friends and immediately felt embarrassed. During the thirty-minute movie it was easy to forget about the people there but at the end that same self-conscious feeling come back to me. When the credits started I bolted out of my seat and when ahead to the estate leaving the group behind me.

While exploring at the mansion my insecurities started to fade away and I could slowly feel the new girl I had become in D.C. come to the surface. This new girl I had become walks to and from work alone every day. She doesn’t let her uncertainties get in the way of what she wants. She is probably what came over me when I looked at my closet and decide to make this journey. So, as I ventured further into the estate I fell back into my new found personality. When that happen, I could finally start enjoying myself. I spoke with the guard who stood outside of George Washington’s tomb. Then, I went down to the estate’s wharf.

The Wharf on the Mt. Vernon Estate

Being more comfortable when I went to the wharf I took time to sit on the dock. I started reviewing my life and asking myself how a girl who was born and raised in Greenwood, South Carolina was sitting alone on a wharf in Virginia.

How did this same girl just finish an internship in Congress and establish a life she enjoyed in a big city? How do I go back to the life I left after I have just been introduced to a new me? How would my family and friends feel about her because she was different and this new me liked change and didn’t mind sitting alone on a wharf in Virginia?

The sounds of the waves slapping up again the dock brought me back to reality. I sat the heavy question to the side and went on to explore the rest of the property. During my exploration I saw a holiday camel and like every good tourist bought myself a T-shirt. As waited for my cab to come I realized hours have already passed by meaning that my last day in D.C. had just finished and that I can proudly say I didn’t spend the day packing.

Looking back, I didn’t understand the significance of the adventure I had. I knew I had asked myself some heavy questions to try to understand my experience. However, I know now that from being back in Greenwood that the girl I was before I left for D.C. would have been too uncomfortable to go off an hour away to Virginia by herself. Even though I had a difficult time at first with my experience in Mt. Vernon the fact that I went by myself spontaneously is the reason I know I have changed a lot in just three months.

Amira Abdelwahab is a political science major who interned with Congressman Jeff Duncan in Washington, D.C. Fall 2017. She will graduate in May 2020 and plans to take a year off before she pursues a master’s degree in diplomacy.