When I came home for the summer, I had plans to work. However, this job was going to be different than any other job I held previously. Prior to my internship, I had only worked in fast food or babysitting. I had never worked a "real job" with an actual dress code and set hours. I had never worked a job where I actually felt like the work I did mattered. This internship changed all of that.

Though I only held this job for six weeks, I learned so much. I was an intern at my local government center in the department of court administration. I even had my own desk! I was so excited to work there, which made a lot of my co-workers laugh. It also helped that some of my friends were also summer interns. It made running papers around more fun.

That's right, fun. I had so much fun at this job. The people I met during my time at work were incredible. The women I worked with directly in the office took me under their wing and made me feel like I belonged there. We talked about anything and everything. They were extremely personable and easy to talk to. All of them were pleasant to be around, and we laughed about almost everything. These women were so wise and taught me so much about the jobs in the courthouse.

Without the department of court administration, the rest of the courthouse could not function properly. People often take the scheduling aspect of work for granted, but it is essential for the workplace to be successful. I learned a great deal surrounding court cases and became more efficient with a computer and typing. Having a deadline for a project made me better with time management and helped me grow as a working person.

On top of that, I was able to sit in on a few trials. One of the trials, in particular, was a murder trial. It was extremely interesting to watch both sides speak about the details of the case and to see the actual evidence from the incident. I also witnessed civil cases. Seeing all of these trials increased my knowledge of law jargon and was a nice callback to when I participated as an attorney in Mock Trial in high school. It also increased my interest in the field of law. After this internship, I can confidently say that I'm interested in becoming a lawyer.

I was sad to be leaving this job, but all good things must come to an end eventually. I will keep in touch with the people I met, and who knows? Maybe I'll be able to work there again next summer. I'll miss the people in the courthouse while I'm back at college. Hopefully, it's not too quiet without me there! I promise I'll be back to visit.

To my summer internship (and first "big girl" job), I cannot thank you enough for the lessons, laughs, and memories!