Zig Zag # 17

One of the most surreal experiences I’ve had so far on my zig zag journey was the time I spent as an intern at a national security think tank.

Talk about being outside of my comfort zone. Sheesh. That’s a bit of an understatement.

A national security think tank is an organization that brings the brightest minds in the national security and international policy space into one room or office suite to help shape the nation’s policy.

What was I doing there? Ms. All Things Writing? This internship was a part of completing my requirements for my graduate program. It took me back to D.C. for the most mind-blowing 8 months I’ve ever had.

I was not and am not a policy person. I was there to serve as an external relations intern. I was there to make coffee, order food, make copies, yes as any good intern is supposed to do, but also I was there to help with their press releases, events, and conferences.

Did I have any experience in the national security realm? Well aside from living in D.C. prior to grad school, no. On the daily, I was constantly absorbing new information in this fascinating world. Tuesday, though, was the day I learned the most.

Every Tuesday at 9 am, we would have an all-hands staff meeting. After covering administrative business, everyone from the interns to the President and CEO would engage in these, sometimes intense, discussions about what was going on on the national security and international stage. Every Tuesday, I would return to my intern cubicle a bit shell-shocked. I needed a moment to process what I just heard. And I would always tap my fellow policy interns to ask what the hell just happened?

And like speaking to an old person or a toddler, they would kindly explain what was talked about. They were always so good at translating it into civilian speak.

While I was intimidated almost always, I am grateful for the experience. I was surrounded by some of the most brilliant minds in this space. But more than that we got to experience a few other really cool, once-in-a-lifetime kinds of things…

We visited Langley. Yes, I stepped on the official CIA seal that is etched into the floor. We got to see the door where they were allowed to film certain scenes from the movie Argon with Ben Affleck. We got to sit in the courtyard where even more brilliant people chill in between meetings steeped in all sorts of secrets. It was trippy.

We got a private tour of the White House.

We shared a meal with military veterans at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

We had lunch with high-ranking military officials that I would later see on the news and highlighted at Pentagon press briefings.

We got a private tour of the Pentagon.

We got to see Hilary Clinton speak as the Secretary of State.

On a more personal level, we got to attend a private dinner with brainy national security professionals. I don’t remember much from that night, but I do remember one piece of advice the interns in attendance were given, “Ride the wave of whatever you are experiencing. Ride the wave.” I took that as advice to stay present and grateful. Two things I haven’t always been great at. But the advice stuck with me, nonetheless.

One of the older policy fellows even took us sailing out on the Chesapeake Bay on his sailboat and regaled us with stories of his travels and military experiences. Stories we probably wouldn’t have heard on an average day at the office.

This experience expanded me in ways I couldn’t have imagined. Comfort zone shattered. Mind blown. And maybe I didn’t fully understand this at the moment, but looking back now, I can tell you: This is what the zig zag life is all about.

Having these moments that push you to your edge so you come back new and changed in a way. Whether it is for 8 months or 8 mins, that’s what the zig zag experiences mean to me.

I think my good buddy Ralph Waldo Emerson sums it up perfectly:

“Be not the slave of your own past - plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep, and swim far, so you shall come back with new self-respect, with new power, and with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.”

Have a zig zag kind of week. Until we meet again.