My past few weeks in DC have been absolutely amazing and I have had some of the most incredible experiences with my SikhLEAD peers. DC is a very fun, lively city, but also extremely professional-minded. As a rising junior in college I feel as if I am expected to have a sense of what I want to pursue in the future. Although I have an interest in politics and policy, hence my application to the SikhLEAD program, I am really not sure of what I wanted to do with my future. I don’t have that “5 year plan” that many of my peers seem to have. This past Friday my SikhLEAD peers and I had a leadership training/personal growth seminar with Craig Bowman of Common Ground Consulting. By the end of the day I was extremely empowered and was forced to think about my passions and future. Craig helped me begin the process of inward reflection that is very important for me, especially as I encounter tough decisions this upcoming year. One of our activities was called “Street Speaking” where we all went to the middle of a public park in downtown DC, stood on a bench and spoke about anything we wanted for three minutes. I would like to share an excerpt from my speech below: 
“In school, I heard “carpe diem”, seize the day, while at home we prayed, “Twameva sarvam mama deva deva”, surrender to the day (or God). I feel constantly in the middle of this juxtaposition of taking action and knowing I am in control of a situation yet realizing that everything happens for a reason and my destiny has been pre ordained by a greater power.” Rumi once said: “As you start to walk out on the way, the way appears.” While DC is very structured, I feel like I still have the opportunity to explore so many different things. There are constantly panels going on about topics of my interest and I have taken advantage of the amazing resources in DC. Even at my internship at the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, I have the freedom to create a research project of my own on any topic that interests me and present is at the end of the summer. Although I still have to complete other tasks in the office, this allows me to constantly be working on something I thoroughly enjoy. Being in DC has empowered me to walk my own path and I hope sometime in the near future or by the end of my summer, a clear path will develop for me. In the meantime, I enjoyed some of the other great things DC has to offer. On Sunday morning my cohorts in SikhLEAD and I woke up early to watch the sunrise from the monuments. It was such a great experience to witness the monuments in the early morning as it was not yet populated by tourists from all over the world. As we built up an appetite, we decided to head to Eastern Market for breakfast. Later that day, we had the chance to go to Meridian Hill Park and partake in a protest for Trayvon Martin. This was my first protest and given the significance of the outcome of the trial, was an incredibly powerful experience. It was amazing to see the masses gather (around 1,000 people) for a single cause and for justice. We walked from the park to Howard University chanting, holding posters and engaging bystanders. After a moment of prayer, the protest was over but the people still remained empowered and hopeful for a better future. After the protest we ended the day at Ben’s Chili Bowl – a DC landmark where President Obama has eaten! –Nimita Uberoi
