Today is the first day in a long while that I stepped out of my door this morning and felt cold. The air felt brisk and wet, the leaves are not far from morphing into their splendid crimson autumn phases and then falling from the branches and I half expected my breath to issue from my mouth in a cloud of white. Fall is fast approaching, signalling the beginning of my last year of high school and the end of my time here at the ACLU. This summer has flown by and my time at the ACLU has been short but sweet. I have learned so much here, from listening to conference calls with ACLU National, to reading articles in order to create blog posts, to listening to the ACLU of Maine's astonishingly intelligent staff members talk about important issues today. I have been truly blessed with this opportunity to gain a unique insight on the current issues that affect both our state of Maine and the country as a whole.
And it's been rather an exciting summer if I may say so myself. From the abolition of DOMA, to Chelsea Manning to the degradation of the Voting Rights Act, decisions in Washington have both moved our country forward and set her back, assuring that no matter how many victories are won there is still a long road ahead. For someone who has always been interested in government, politics and civil issues the opportunity to feel connected and involved with such current and crucial happenings has been invaluable. The experience has both taught me much and piqued my curiosity to learn more. Even before I set to writing this final blog post, my mind was buzzing with hundreds of new ideas for ACLU blog posts that I will regrettably never write (for example Maine's new push to legalize marijuana, my fingers were itching to type out my take). Although the blogosphere may no longer be my forum, my time here in the offices of the ACLU of Maine has inspired me to get involved and to never ignore my urge to learn, change and share important information and news. I will undoubtedly take these skills into the next chapter of my life, my senior year of high school and then eventually college. After that who knows. Maybe I will become an attorney or legislator and find my way back into the offices of the ACLU. Either way, I'm excited to find out.
To everyone here at the ACLU of Maine and all the ACLU members, supporters and blog readers, thank you for giving me this incredible opportunity. The work you do both inside and outside the office, whether at the desk or standing in the rain with a protest sign is of such vital importance and without people who are willing to put in the work, whether it be phone banking or bill signing, we would not be where we are and will never be where we want to go. Keep fighting the good fight ACLU! I'll be rooting you on.
