While part of me is admittedly relieved to be done with the 9-5 workday, and excited to sleep until noon, I am truly sad to be leaving The Bus.
I don't think I'll ever find an organization as closely-knit and empowering as The Bus (or at least not in the realm of political NPOs). I lucked out this summer- The Bus is comprised of young, cool, extremely intelligent and hardworking staff. They care about both the organization's cause and each other so readily and completely that it feels like a family rather than a group of colleagues.
From day one, Sonny (our supervisor) has invested so deeply in our development not just as interns, but also, as people. Allen and I have explored issues such as race, gender and sexuality, and other mechanisms of oppression, within the Seattle community and within the world at large. In order to better understand our research (and ourselves), we were constantly called upon to deconstruct our own values and to open our eyes to both transparent and nuanced problems that exist in regards to these issues. Never in my life have I been challenged to think about my privilege, others' privilege (or lack thereof), and how these systems of power and oppression feed into all institutions and group/individual psychologies. I'm leaving The Bus with an arsenal of new knowledge and understanding that I can apply to my education, work experience, social life, family life, etc., but most importantly, I am leaving with the intention to never stop deconstructing, listening, and acting.