Jessie Kotrick: Privilege

I stepped onto a coach bus. It was seven in the morning but it felt like two. The excitement of leaving Wexford and diving into journalism somewhere new were the only motivating factors for us to peel ourselves out of our beds. We took off on our long, four hour ride. Some of us started reading, some were playing games, and some were digging into their packed snacks within the first fifteen minutes.

THURSDAY: We arrived at the Liaison Hotel. Tired from the trip, we lugged our heavy luggage up to our rooms with two full beds, a flat screen TV, and a substantial bathroom. We had 30 minutes to get ready, and then we were off to our first activity… Chipotle… But seriously our first activity, NPR. For those of you who have NO IDEA what NPR stands for, I will gladly tell you, “National Public Radio.” Still doesn’t ring a bell? Have you ever heard those podcasts narrated by the men with boring voices on the radio that make you want to implode? Okay, okay, NPR isn’t really like that, but that was my first impression when I walked in. We toured the whole building and even went in their recording studios. After we finished up at NPR, we took a trip to see Tony Fratto. We spent what felt like hours talking about politics, jobs, degrees, and of course, journalism. This meeting gave us our first insight on journalism after high school and college.

FRIDAY: We woke up bright and early, a staggering 20 minutes before we had to meet to walk over to the Newseum. We toured the building then went to our first class, distinguishing fake news. After, we walked 10 minutes to the FBI building. They sent us through metal detectors and checked our IDs, only then were we allowed to enter. An hour went by at the FBI then it was time to go back to the Newseum once again. Later that night, we had a conference with some journalists with pretty cool jobs working at the White House and the Washington Post.

SATURDAY: Our last day. We went on our last tour which was the Capitol building. Then of course afterwards we ran amuck. Then there was Me, of course, crushed by the metro doors while trying to join everyone else on the tram. During this trip, we took many things for granted. Most of the activities we took part in aren’t open for everyone. Not everyone can afford to stay at a fancy hotel, the FBI tour, or the tour of the Capitol. When some of us were bored at times on this once in a lifetime trip, we struggled to realize our privilege.