REP-PP Spring 2016 Blog: Excellence

Blogger:  Kia Pichon

Law School Year:  2L
Placement:  Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of General Counsel

#Excellence? More like #CommunityExcellence!

The D.C. Metro area came together today to celebrate something everyone could get behind -- a great hill on a snow day! Because of Winter Storm Jonas, my ​uncle, cousins, and I explored the Capitol, where scores of community families, couples, and single ski aficionados came together to sled in tandem. This day was even more “excellent” because it marked the first time since 1876 that sledding was officially permitted on the Capitol Grounds – something that required an Act of Congress to achieve!

Be it on sleds, saucers, or cardboard pizza boxes, people were friendly and understanding of my general inability to control the sled. Time and time again I apologized profusely as we nearly clipped bystanders while they laughed and brushed it off. We even ran into family friends, and made friends relatively quickly at the top of West Capitol Hill.

When I moved here, I was constantly warned about being too friendly to the locals (especially on the Metro), and to be wary of people and their ulterior motives. While certainly good advice, the fresh powdery snow must bring something different out in everyone. The thirteen block walk to and from the Capitol was the friendliest exposure I’ve had with D.C. locals, and was the capstone of the most excellent day I’ve had in D.C. so far.

The photo here encapsulates the difference between my fear that I would mow down some parents and my cousin's understanding that people would laugh and move out of the way. He has been raised in this community that laughs along with and welcomes each other, rather than the "House of Cards"-esque personalities that was the D.C. I was expecting. D.C. – at least on this very special day – was #CommunityExcellence, and I was thrilled to be a part of it!