Social Media and Romantic Relationships

Deciding whether or not social media has a good or bad impact on romantic relationships can be a very conflicting question to answer, especially when looking into several people’s personal experiences and opinions.  Like most people, I used to find myself believing that social media and the Internet generally ruins relationships and has very few positive benefits if any at all.  After committing myself to a serious, long-distance relationship for the past two years, I now have a much different perception however.  Social media and the Internet have been very crucial in the maintenance and growth of our relationship over the past two years while going several weeks a part to only spend time with each other for a weekend here and there.  Therefore, I believe it is difficult and unfair to come to a conclusive answer as to whether social media and the Internet is either “good” or “bad” for romantic relationships because everyone has had different experiences.  As I said, no person or relationship is the same so it simply becomes difficult coming up with a definite and straightforward answer. 

Most research on this subject seems to try to prove how social media affects relationships negatively, but I believe our relationship is different from this and unique.  I would argue that social media and the Internet have had a major and positive impact throughout our long-distance separations.  Has it been perfect with all sunshine and butterflies?  By no means – no!  Therefore, instead of trying to compare how our personal experiences compare with outside studies and published research on this topic, I thought it would be a fun twist to compare how my impressions of social media’s impact on our relationship compares with my fiancé’s thoughts.  Here, we have the same experiences because we are in a relationship together, but possibly different perceptions which could be fun to unfold! So my question is this, how does my and my fiancé’s impressions of social media’s impact on our relationship compare to each other?

First, I will start with my thoughts of how I believe social media, the Internet, and technology in general has impacted Jake and I’s relationship. My initial thought is that it is almost irreplaceable and we couldn’t live without it.  I know that sounds extreme, but I seriously can’t imagine trying to have a romantic relationship with someone and not being able to talk to them every day and share everything with them.  Jake and I started to talk and date right when he was finishing up his last semester of school and planning to move back home to farm to work the rest of his life.  So from that point forward, we have relied HEAVILY on social media and technology to communicate throughout our journey together of a long-distance romantic relationship. 

The Masters of Media at the University of Amsterdam published an article titled: “Relationships 2.0: Social media – Taking the distance out of long distance relationships” and what an accurate point!  If you read through the article at: http://mastersofmedia.hum.uva.nl/2011/10/02/relationships-2-0-social-media-taking-the-distance-out-of-long-distance-relationships/ you can find some very interesting points as to some pros and cons of social media and relationships.  So many people write about the dangers and criticisms of online interactions, but the same social media can also act in a positive way in our real human relationships as well, as the article suggests.  I think this is a common theme as I’ve looked into published articles and outside research on this topic – the negative aspects of social media that are mentioned really haven’t been prevalent in our relationship. 

One downfall to social media use that I would agree with is that social networking sites and communicating over technology really doesn’t substitute the human contact and real relationships.  It’s a great way to feel a sense of connection when we are a part and keeping in touch is easier, but the value of virtual communication is not even close to physical presence.  I’m not sure how Jake feels quite yet about that (because men can be different!), but coming from my point of view I do still feel lonely for his physical presence even though we text, talk on the phone, FaceTime, and Snapchat basically every day.  So does communicating via social media and technology with Jake have the same effect as physically being in his presence?  Of course not!  But… When you don’t have a choice being in a long-distance relationship, I definitely take what I can get.  I thought this image pictured to the right was a very cool depiction of how communication for long-distance relationships has evolved over time – It’s a little comical but also accurate!  I find myself thinking that I can’t even imagine having to write letters “back in the day” and only hearing from Jake once a week, at best.  Well, couples before the “Postal Couple” actually had it even worse than that! 

Jake and I are avid users of Snapchat and FaceTime to communicate with each other in a different way than texting or phone calls.  I really like it because I think I’m able to receive a greater “taste” of that physical presence by being able to see him versus just communicating to him through a text or phone call where I don’t get that.  I also enjoy seeing what he’s up to on the farm that day and things like that.  Texting throughout the day can tend to get very repetitive and monotonous so Snapchat is another way to keep in touch throughout the day for a change of routine.  

Now in the next breath (which might be one of Jake’s comments ha-ha), is that jealousy can tend to occur.  We have never had an actual issue of jealousy in the sense of not trusting each other or an issue with privacy and/or constantly checking up on each other.  My kind of “jealousy”, on the other hand, is when we start to hit two or three weeks apart from each other and I wish I was out with him and having fun – I start to get “jealous”, for a lack of a better term.  I’ll get a snapchat of him out having a few drinks with our friends in town, and I’ll be sitting there in my apartment by myself, three hours away, and doing homework.  Feelings of loneliness and jealousy (or wishing I was there) start to set in.  Is this a bad problem to have?  I don’t think so… And I think it is probably pretty normal to miss the one you love after being weeks apart and wishing you were with them!  I hate to even say it’s “jealousy” because most people’s jealousy stems from taking a picture with a different man/woman, texting someone else, going behind each other’s back, etc.  We really don’t run into those issues at all.  According to the Pew Research Center, 27% of teens who use social media and have dating experience say social media makes them feel jealous or unsure about their relationship, with 7% feeling this way “a lot.” Roughly two-thirds (68%) do not feel jealous or unsure of their relationship due to social media.  This statistic kind of surprised me – I thought there would be more feelings of jealousy among teens using social media in their relationships.  The article (http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/01/social-media-and-romantic-relationships/ ) also mentions that “many people in relationships view social media as a place where they can feel more connected with the daily contours of their significant other’s life, share emotional connections and let their significant other know they care – although these sites can also lead to feelings of jealousy or uncertainty about the stability of one’s relationship.”  I do believe this to be a pretty accurate statement – For many relationships, those negative aspects can really get in the way and social media can end up doing more harm than good to their relationship.

So now that I got my two cents in, let’s hear from Jake – I’m sure it will be short and sweetJ.  To get him to start thinking and talking… I went right ahead and asked the same four questions from the Pew Research site and article but with the added notion that it applies to our long distance separations:

1. Does social media make you feel more connected to your significant other’s life when you spend weeks at a time apart?

Jake said that he does feel more connected to me during our long-distance separations through social media.  Although he rarely posts anything on Facebook ever, he likes to see what I’m liking, sharing and posting because he sees it as a direct reflection of my interests and beliefs so he feels like he is continuing to constantly learn about me even when we aren’t in each other’s physical presence.  I thought this was a very cool way to look at it. 

2. Does social media make you feel like you have a place to show you care about your significant other?

Jake said he doesn’t like to use social media as a way to express his feelings for me and/or to show he cares for me.  He would much rather send a personal text message that is just between us.  As long as I know he cares, he doesn’t feel the need to share “lovey-dovey” posts with me on our wall for everyone to see – he prefers the privacy and doesn’t feel like the attention needs to be drawn on us.  Here, I think he has been thinking mostly about Facebook, but I did remind him that he will send me a snapchats wishing me luck on an exam or that I look beautiful that day… So he does use social media to show he cares to an extent!

3. Does social media make you feel emotionally closer to your significant other?

Jake didn’t know how to exactly answer this but he expressed that he generally doesn’t feel an emotional connection to me through social media.  Once I told him to think of other means of social media and technology besides Facebook (like Snapchat, Facetime, or even texting for that matter) he said Snapchat can really provide that sense of physical presence that texting can’t, but we usually don’t have serious, emotional discussions over social media so doesn’t believe it has made us grow emotionally closer together. 

4. Does social media ever make you feel jealous or unsure of your relationship?

Jake said he really couldn’t think of times when he has felt really jealous or unsure about our relationship.  Maybe the only time is when I go to a college party with my teammates or something like that where other guys are going to be.  He said it has nothing to do with not trusting me by any means, but a similar feeling to how I described my “jealousy”.  He just starts to miss me and wishes he could be there to go out and spend time with me.  He did mention that I probably get a little more bothered by the distance and this sense of “jealousy” is more common coming from me – Which I could definitely agree with actually! 

So when looking at Jake’s perceptions of how social media affects our long-distance relationship in comparison to mine, I see a lot of similarities with a few slight differences.  I do know that I “crave” that physical presence more and therefore that sense of “jealousy” affects me a little more.  I think Snap-chatting, texting, and Face-timing fills that void for him better than it does for me.  When it comes down to it, though, we both would agree that social media and communicating via technology does not even come close to being together in-person.  That’s where the most emotional and physical feelings really grow – There’s no way to get the full effect over social media. But like I said, when you don't have any other option, you take your best option! 

Home Sweet Home!

This weekend is a little change of pace for me from being back in Redfield!  I'm back home in Minnesota for the weekend along with my fiance's mom (Sheree) who drove the 4.5 hours from Redfield, SD to St. Peter, MN where my parents live by a lake to also stay for the weekend.  Last night we had a great time together out on the pontoon talking and floating around the lake.

Before Sheree got here last night, my mom and I actually went to Inspire Bridal Boutique right on main street in St. Peter.  It was my first time trying on wedding dresses but I had a very successful first day!  Surprisingly enough, pretty much every dress fit me perfectly and I ended up liking 6+ dresses!  I thought I would be overwhelmed by not being able to find one I like, but it was completely the opposite.  I was a little overwhelmed that I liked so many!  I did end up narrowing it down to two dresses, but I did have a favorite.  I also looked at bridesmaids dresses and tuxes for our bridal party and found the colors I like (charcoal gray and coral) and the styles I liked.  So like I said, it was a very successful day :)

I ended up making another short appointment today at 11:00 AM so I could bring Sheree back with my mom and I to try on the dresses for her to see.  So this afternoon we went back into the boutique and I narrowed it down to my favorite.  Sheree liked that one the best so that was reassuring :)  I didn't purchase it yet because I want to try and find it cheaper somewhere else, but it's very relieving to have found one I love!  I have our reception hall picked out and our DJ... Which both worked for the date we are thinking next summer.  I finally picked the church we want to get married in and plan to meet with the pastor at the church this coming week and hopefully that day works as well with the church! It's starting to all come together!!

The Calm After the Storm!

Wow, 11 straight days of camps are DONE! As a senior, it's the start of many lasts which is bittersweet!  It's amazing how slow the days feel from day-to-day sometimes but looking back how fast the series of days went for camps.  Advanced camp went by much quicker than Intermediate camp because it was a whole day shorter.  Team camp is a full four days and it always gets really hot and humid in the gyms during that week!  It got up to 100 degrees most of the days and it's miserable in the gyms without any air conditioning!! We actually had to completely cancel one of our night sessions from 6:30-8:30 because we were in an extreme heat advisory.  The gym floors start to get slippery from all the humidity and it does get dangerous for the players.

So camps are done and I headed home Wednesday night for my follow-up appointments for my shoulder on Thursday morning.  I had surgery on my right shoulder back in December to get my labrum repaired and I have to see my doctor and physical therapist every couple months.  It was nice to see them right after camps when we play and scrimmage very competitively during all of our breaks.  It was a good test to see where my shoulder was at from all my rehab and strengthening this summer.  So I got cleared to play this fall for my last year!  Now I get a nice break at home for the weekend :) 

One Camp Down, Two to Go!

The girls at the first camp finished their last night off in the pool after camp was over for the night on Wednesday! I was on "pool duty" with the rest of the team until about 10 pm.  I thought those girls would be worn out from long, 12-hour days, but they were still squealing and having fun in the pool for an hour or so!

We finished up Intermediate Camp on Thursday afternoon, and Advanced Camp started today (Friday).  There were about 170 girls in the first camp, and now there are about 205 girls in this second camp!  Advanced camp is one day shorter - only going from Friday to Sunday - so this one goes by REALLY fast, which is nice!  After the first day, I can already tell these girls are a little more advanced and experienced with their volleyball skills, which will also be nice and refreshing to have! Pictured below is a picture of our team in our locker room before we went to scrimmage during one of our breaks :)

For Advanced Camp, we pretty much do the same thing... But just condensed into one less day.  This ends up working out okay though because the girls tend to have a little bit more experience and background of volleyball, like I said.  Pictured below is a post on Instagram from our SMSU Volleyball page of some of our players performing a passing demo for all the campers.  We usually always do demos as a big group before we break out onto separate courts for skills sessions. Tomorrow, the girls will get divided into their positions and then placed with a coach on a team depending on their skill level and they will start playing with those teams the rest of camp!

From Law Office Intern to Volleyball Camp Coach

Although my blog this summer has been all about my internship in Gillette Law Office in Redfield, SD... The next couple weeks will be a change of pace for me as I'm back in Marshall, MN working our SMSU Volleyball Program's summer camps.  These camps are something we are required to do each summer as collegiate volleyball players at Southwest Minnesota State.  It's a total of three different camps:  Intermediate Camp (for younger & less-skilled middle and high school players) from Monday - Thursday of this week; Advanced Camp (for older/more-skilled players) from Friday - Sunday this weekend; and finally Team Camp (for high school teams) next week from Monday - Thursday.  So... It's 11 straight days that are usually 13 hour days from 8:30 am - 9:30 pm!!! We finished Day 2 today and have a long haul ahead of us... And let me tell you, I could go for a foot massage already!  Our bodies are all usually hurting by the end of this, especially since we scrimmage during our lunch and dinner breaks for an hour or so each time.  

Pictured to the left is all of the campers in our Intermediate Camp this week - Which totals about 170 campers!









Pictured below is most of our coaching staff consisting of our 17 players, coaches and previous players/coaches that help work the camps every summer.  We always have very good numbers for all of our camps with our good reputation and work ethic from year to year.  Our head coach has very high expectations of us as coaches because we are providing a "customer service" to these campers that pay us to come and learn more about volleyball and become better players.  Even though the days are long and it can get extremely hot... We always have to push through, keep going, and keep the faith and energy up for the campers!

Pictured above is a few of our players performing a demo of a skill for all the campers to watch.  We do a lot of training in all the skills of volleyball as a whole group (like in this setting), but also dispersed out into smaller groups on each court with a few coaches.  We have 8 courts set up in the RA Facility gym and 3 more courts up in the PE gym, so we have a lot of court space which is helpful!  This year, I have been in charge of running my own court because I'm a senior (and older with more experience at this), and coming up with different drills and ideas on my own can be stressful and difficult sometimes.  But, I do believe experiences like these will help me in my future careers also.  My patience is tested every year with these little campers, but it can be a very rewarding job at the same time too! 

TGIF!

This was my mood all day today - Did not want to be in the office!  It was a pretty boring day in my cubical... I continued working on a project that Paul gave me last week. I obtained copies of deeds from the Register of Deeds office for a couple trust accounts for one of his client's.  From those I figured out how much interest each trust owned for each parcel of property along with who all owned the property and how much in percentages. Sounds confusing, huh?  Well it was and I felt like I had no idea what I was doing the whole time! 

We finally have started to receive some medical records for one of Tim's clients in regards to their personal injury case.  So a majority of the day I went through these medical records from a couple providers and organized the information into an Excel spreadsheet so it's organized and easier to understand.  Like the other two personal injury cases I worked on earlier this summer, it will be a LONG process!  Dealing with medical providers and records can be a headache.  I'm glad I have some background and experience dealing with these types of cases, and now understand the steps that need to be taken.  That is rewarding! 

I also got to help out Angela a little bit today, who is an accountant in the office.  She needed some help with taxes, specifically entering information into Form 2290 for several of her clients.  It was a pretty easy job that didn't require a whole lot of strenuous thinking so I enjoyed that for part of the day :) 

Clark, SD Courthouse

Due to another crazy week of a Monday holiday and having to go back to Minnesota for a funeral on Tuesday and Wednesday, today was my first day back to the internship!  Kimberly Zachrison (the Deputy State's Attorney in Huron, SD) contacted me and told me she was over in Clark, SD for court today.  Clark is about an hour drive for me but is a straight shot from where I live in Rockham, as you can see above.  I headed over there this morning for court at 9:30 which went all morning.

As always, it was very cool to see a different court room, judge, and how they do things differently. This judge was the first woman I have seen throughout the couple courts I have been to - Which I think is pretty rare especially around this area.  She seemed to be a very understanding yet fair judge, which I liked to see.  I was a little disappointed in many of the cases... A majority of the lawyers just asked the judge for extensions to the next court date because they needed more time on their cases or whatever the case was.  So I really didn't even hear that many cases and it went really quick.  After court, I sat down and talked with Kimberly a little bit about the cases she is currently working on and I also had the pleasure of meeting Cindy Schmit who is a victim witness specialist for the Division of Criminal Investigation for the State of South Dakota out of Brookings, SD.  We had a nice conversation and she gave me her business card to contact her if I ever have questions - Which is great!  The connections KEEP coming :) 

Whirlwind of a Week!

There's a reason I've been away from my blog for awhile... This past week of my life has been CRAZY - Not necessarily my internship, just life!  I got engaged exactly a week ago on Saturday - It was one of the happiest days of my life!  I then had to head home to Minnesota the next day for a funeral on Monday and to see my great grandma before she passed away (on Thursday)... So, I really only worked Wednesday-Friday this week in the office.  First, I'll share a picture of my ring for everyone to see - I don't think the picture does justice - I think it's much more beautiful in person! I'm in love with it and we are so excited and happy!

So I headed back to work on Wednesday... And I started off helping Tim with his two personal injury cases.  We got all the HIPPA forms signed and returned from his clients so I organized which medical providers we had to send those to for each client, typed up a cover letter, and faxed those out to the providers.  With having a lot of previous experience earlier this summer with working on two other personal injury cases for Kristen and Paul, I actually feel like I know what I'm doing which is nice and rewarding :) Lizzie (the other intern) wanted to get in on the picture for my blog as we were working on and organizing these two personal injury files - She is a hoot! 

Over the course of the week, I continued to help Paul with one of his client's family trust accounts which I did all of the accounting work for earlier this summer.  Since there is an issue among this family because they are questioning the sibling who was in charge of their parent's finances and accounts when they became incapable, we are trying to go through and track all deposits and disbursements from all the accounts to prove no money was taken by their sister.  So, he had me type up a few documents that explain, in a simple way, how the money is traceable.  Notice my post-it note beside my computer which is a to-do list... Since I always have 10 different little jobs going on at once for everyone around the office! 

I'm sure next week will be another hectic week as I have to go back to MN for my great grandma's funeral on Wednesday,,, So we will see how much work and blogging I get around to!  Not to mention the two weeks following that, I'll be away from my internship and working volleyball camps at the college with my team!  I'm sure I will be blogging about those experiences for those two weeks!

Found Guilty!

On Thursday, I headed back over to the Beadle County Courthouse over in Huron to hear the rest of the jury trial for the rape case.  There was only one more witness that had to take the stand for the Defense Attorney and then it went into closing statements for both the State's Attorney who is trying to find the defendant accused of rape guilty, and then a closing statement from his Defense Attorney. What happens during a jury trial like this, is that the State's Attorney has to prove their case - that the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt - whereas the Defense Attorney doesn't necessarily have to prove that the defendant is not guilty, but rather try to "poke holes" in the State's argument to show there isn't enough consistent evidence to convict the defendant of the crime.  I think it would be very hard being a Defense Attorney and representing someone who you believe is probably guilty, but you have to try to provide reasons as to why there isn't enough probable cause and evidence to convict them of the crime.

This is the link to the State's Attorney staff that I was able to meet and hang out with on Wednesday and Thursday:  http://bcsa.us/index.cfm?page=about.  I worked and talked the most with Kimberly Zachrison... But I also talked a great deal with Dan Nelson on Thursday who was the State's Attorney for this particular case and trial.  I was able to watch him make his arguments to the jury, and I really admired the way he spoke and argued the case for the victim of this rapist.  After closing arguments from both sides, the jury went to deliberate and come up with a verdict.  It actually only took them about 30 minutes to come up with a verdict and we were called back into court.  The defendant was found guilty - So he will head back to the County Jail until his sentencing, which probably won't happen for a couple months.

On Friday, I headed back into Gillette Office after the entire week of being in several different counties for court, and there were only two people in the office!  I worked until noon and there was nothing else for me to do so I went home :)

A Court-filled Week!

The beginning of this week has been BY FAR my favorite experiences so far in my internship this summer!  On Monday, I had the privilege of riding to Selby, SD with Tim Bormann, who is that State's Attorney over in Faulk County to attend court with him that day.  He was actually filling in for the State's Attorney in Walworth County who was gone for a couple weeks.  Faulkton is about 40 miles away from Redfield, and Selby is about 80 miles from Faulkton... So, it was a long day of driving & riding for me to say the least, but it was definitely worth the trip :) Although only 120 miles away from Redfield where I reside and usually work everyday, it felt like a whole different world!

Since Selby is out in the middle of no where and it was a relatively small court day with only 5 offenders, the judge appeared over the TV from Aberdeen so he didn't have to make the trip.  I had never heard of this or seen it before so that was a new experience.  I'm not sure if I liked the "feeling" of court without the judge physically present - I think it loses some of it's meaning without all parties there, but that's just my opinion after the first time.  From what I heard, it's pretty common around that area and in the State of South Dakota because judges have to travel to so many different counties. I can definitely see it being beneficial during the winter with bad weather when it's not safe to travel on the roads.  Tim also brought me over to tour the county jail in Selby which was an experience in itself! It was great to see, but I would never want to go back. There is honestly no way to explain it that would do justice - It should be somewhere every young child should have to tour and experience so they know what is coming when the law is broken.

On Tuesday, I went to MORE court right in Spink County which is located right in Redfield where I work.  I try to go to court right in town each time it is held every other week.  There were many interesting cases and hearings that I got to sit through on Tuesday... Some more difficult to hear than others, but also some that lightened the mood like adoption cases!  The picture above is the inside of the Spinky County courthouse that I took above during an intermission period (not sure if I'm supposed to do that...)! 

On Tuesday, I had the chance to sit down with Kimberly who is the Deputy State's Attorney over in Huron, SD.  She was there for court that day and gave me several dates that I could come sit-in on court over there and shadow/work with her.  So on Wednesday, I headed over to Huron to meet up with Kimberly for a jury trial hearing for a rape case.  It wasn't her specific case, but she told me it would be an interesting one for me to see.  This morning they started with a jury selection then got right to the court process. It started with opening statements from the State Attorney and the Defense Attorney and then went right into calling witnesses for questioning and cross-examination.  The first witness for the State was the actual victim of the rape... It was difficult to hear the story and watch, but beneficial to hear what she had to say.  The rest of the afternoon was hearing from witnesses which will continue into tomorrow along with closing statements.  From there it will be up to the jury if the defendant is guilty or not guilty.  I texted my boss tonight and told him I'm going back to Huron tomorrow to hear the rest of the case :) It was too interesting today to just leave right in the middle!

What a Week!

 

The rest of the week, I was bouncing back and forth between all that accounting work for Angela and also a project that Paul had me start!  He gave me this "to-do" list for one of his clients' trust accounts.  His client has two different trust accounts - One of them he created back in 1991 which will divide his land among his daughter and step-daughter.  And he also created another trust account in 2013 which will only be going to his daughter.  In short, it was this big file which he wanted separated out into two different files, along with sub-files to separate trust papers, wills, power of attorneys, funding, etc. From there I had to contact the Assessor's office in Faulk County to obtain an assessment list of real property for this particular client.  This document gave me a list of all the property that the client owns and who the deed holder is (so what Trust it is under).  Paul wanted to make sure that there was no property just under his clients' name - He wants all property in one of the trusts.  I did find a few pieces of real estate that were just under his name so now Paul can get those deeded over to one of the trust accounts.  It was an interesting project and I learned a lot along the way!

It felt like this past week at work was never going to end! I was very excited when Friday afternoon came around to say the least - I even left a little early because I got all my work done :) On Monday I'm heading to Selby, SD with Tim for court. I'm very excited to get out of the office and see a different court room! 

My Head is Spinning!

The first part of this week has felt more like an accounting internship that anything related to justice! Not that I'm complaining because it relates a lot to my business major and I love accounting work, but sitting a staring at statements, fine print, and a computer screen for hours upon hours can make one go nuts and give an incredible headache!!  Sometimes it feels like my head is spinning, just like the image pictured above does (that I found on Google). I have been doing a great deal of work for Angela, who is an accountant in the office, and helping her with one of her clients' accounting work from 2015. What makes this client so difficult is that they don't organize all of their information like statements, check registers, deposit slips, etc. so it ends up being a great deal of sorting that most other clients have all organized and ready to go (like they are supposed to). The work can get very stressful and overwhelming at times, but it helps that I'm a very organized person with a Type A personality that likes to work with numbers! I will have to take a picture tomorrow of my messy desk area and post it later this week... It is a complete cluster!

On Monday, Robin (who is Paul's assistant) had me work on going through all tax forms for a client and look specifically at the Form 1040 (Schedule D), which I have pictured above from Google. This client actually died back in 2012, so I went through all of his tax returns from 2012-Current to track every asset that has been sold to record it's cost basis.  In short, Robin wanted to know the "date of death value" of each of his assets that were sold and organize it in a spreadsheet (pictured below). Just because this client bought the asset at a certain price, does not mean it's value stayed the same... So I went through all his forms and calculated these numbers for her.  I tell you what... If you have never had to file taxes or look through these forms, they are confusing and very hard to understand!  

The beginning of this week has been a lot of numbers and paperwork to sort through! Tomorrow I will continue working on the accounting work for Angela, but I will also start doing some legal work for Paul which I'm excited about! I'm actually planning on going to court with Tim next week on Monday - I'm looking forward to getting out of the office and seeing some action in court :)

Something New Everyday

Much of my day on Thursday consisted of filing away the folders of Paul and Kristen's clients. Although I guess I didn't "learn" much from doing this... There is always this kind of work at any job that no one wants to do. So... The intern gets stuck with those kind of jobs usually :) I'm okay with that though and happy to help out everyone around the office with these kind of jobs so they can stay busy with the work of theirs that is more important. 

Pictured above is what I started doing on Friday.  I used HotDocs, which is an addition to Microsoft Word, to create a probate for a man who had just passed away on June 4th who had a will.  It actually ended up being very simple... Was just a matter of plugging in certain information and the software created the probate in a Word Document that Paul needed.  On Friday I also helped Tim, who is the State's Attorney for Faulk County, with starting the process on a few of his personal injury cases. Since I have already been working on two personal injury cases this summer for Paul, I knew the step-by-step process I had to undergo to get started.  I took care of writing a few letters to his clients and sending those off with paperwork they need to sign before we can start contacting their healthcare providers.  To end the day on Friday, Paul sent Lizzie (the other intern) and I to Tulare (a town right up the road from Redfield) to meet up with one of his clients at his house to get some paperwork. We had fun listening to throwback music in the car ride there and stopped for ice cream at DQ on our way back because it was such a hot day.  Although the days can get long in the office sometimes, there is always something new that happens everyday and makes it fun :)  

In the Court Room: The Connections Keep Coming

Here is another up-close picture of the courthouse that I took before entering into court on Tuesday.  I headed over there right away Tuesday morning with Kristen (one of the lawyers in the office) to sit in on all the hearings.  Kristen had to defend a few people for very minor traffic violations so she didn't have any interesting cases that day.  A majority of the other cases involved alcohol like DUI's, drug offenses, or simple assaults (with domestic abuse sometimes) which were definitely a little more intriguing! 

While in court, I actually had a few flashbacks to when I did my first initial project for my internship. I was told to go through 100+ magistrate reports in the Redfield Press newspapers and create an Excel spreadsheet of every offense and the sentence/conditions they were given for each offense. The lawyers in the office wanted me to do this so they have a trend and record of the sentences for every offense - for when they have to defend their clients with similar offenses.  Anyways... When I was in court on Tuesday, I saw SO much carryover from this simple project and the sentences that the people in court were receiving for their crimes.  There were times where I felt like I could have gotten up on the stand and came up with a reasonable sentence just from doing that simple (but repetitive) project on the first day on my internship a few weeks ago.  

It was so nice getting out of the office for a few hours and seeing the true side of Criminal Justice right in the court room.  It's a lot better than staring at a computer all day trying to sort through a personal injury case like I did on Monday!  I had never been in the court room so that was so cool to see and experience!  I also had the opportunity of personally meeting the Judge and State's Attorney for Spink County.  They both said they were more than willing to take me under their wing for a few days and let me shadow them.  The State's Attorney from the Huron, SD area was also present for court and we had a nice conversation - we actually exchanged contact information and I might go intern/shadow her for a time period this summer!  The connections just keep coming and I love it :)  It's so reassuring and rewarding to continually meet more and more people within the Justice field around this area.  It was all scary at first, but the ice has been broken and I feel like I will have many doors open for me when I return for good after one more semester of school! 

Throwing it Back

Can you hear "This Kiss" by Faith Hill playing in the background? What a throwback! This week  I've been back in a different office working on a desk beside Ellen, who does the book-keeping, payroll, accounting and tax work for the office. I've been doing some accounting work on Quick Books software for one of the lawyer's clients all week. I love that Ellen plays music on the radio - and the modern pop station, too! It makes it a little more lively, fun and energizing.  She is an older lady who has been working there for about 35 years and she is an absolute sweetheart. We have had a lot of fun chatting and working together the past couple days back in her office. She actually decided this past year was going to be her last tax season and is trying to gradually phase out into being more part-time and eventually retirement.

Although it's sad she will be leaving because she has been around for so long, Paul (the lawyer and owner of the firm) and Ellen both told me today that I would have a job here right after I graduate this December if I want one, to basically start taking over her position.  Although this isn't technically a job "specific" to the criminal justice field, it basically incorporates both of my degrees of Justice/Law and Business. Ellen said it would be very beneficial for me to have some tax background for when their busy tax season takes place from January-April each year so I got registered for Federal Tax I this fall semester. It fit in my class schedule great and just required Accounting I and II prerequisites (which I have) - so I think it is all meant to be! Ellen also said she would be more than willing to mentor me and work with me as I would gradually learn her job and move into her position. I'm VERY excited about this opportunity!

The main goal of my internship this summer was not only to gain experience, but more importantly build those relationships and connections with people. They always say it's not always about what you know, but more about WHO you know! I think this is so evident in my case, and many students who do internships - they more than often lead us into jobs after the internship is over. Like I've said before, I will be moving back to Redfield, SD with my boyfriend after my final semester of school this fall - which is an area that I didn't grow up in and one I'm pretty unfamiliar with. I'm glad I put myself out on a leaf and contacted Paul almost a year ago about doing an internship this summer. I think good things will be coming from this experience this summer!

It's Not So Rough After All!

One thing I have grown to love about my internship within the first couple weeks is that it is very laid back. The lawyer I'm working for is very understanding of my summer schedule (taking an online class and having other summer plans) so he basically lets me pick the days and hours I want to work from week to week. If I'm busy and can't come in one day, that's perfectly fine - Or if I want to work a half-day and leave a little early one day, that is also okay!

For instance, I went to my parents' lake house about 5 hours away in Minnesota for Memorial Day weekend, and didn't get back home until late last night. It's nice that I can have another day off to get caught up on my summer online class and get some things done around the house after being gone the whole weekend. So this week I will just be working Wednesday - Friday!

Pictured below is what I'm doing today... Relaxing on my couch with a cup of coffee and starting my online class for the week! The life of an intern isn't so rough after all :) I'm definitely enjoying my last summer as a "college kid" before graduating in December and entering into the real work-world forever! Back to reality tomorrow though!

The New Girl in the Office

This is Gillette Law Office on the corner of Main Street out in Redfield, South Dakota which is where I will be interning this summer!  I will be working with the two private lawyers in this office, as well as overseeing the judge, state's attorney, and court services at the Courthouse (pictured below) right down the road.  I'm excited to blog about my internship experiences this summer!

I'm currently just finishing up my second week with the law firm and I'm finally getting the hang of things around the office.  Being born and raised in Minnesota and not knowing many people around the area or town, I definitely had the first day jitters going into this brand new experience.  It can always be a little awkward being "the new girl" and having to figure out all those unspoken rules and routines around the office like when coworkers take their lunch... if they bring a lunch or go out for lunch together... little things like that!  However, I feel like I adapted very quickly and fit right in with everyone.  There is another girl working in the office this summer who just graduated from high school and we have really hit it off and had a lot of fun together so far! 

Here is my cubical and desk where I have done a lot of work on two personal injury claims from motor vehicle accidents - gathering medical records, billing information, insurance records, etc. and creating a spreadsheet to organize all of this information for the lawyers' clients.  I have also had the opportunity to do some accounting work a few days for one of the accountants in the office who needed help.  Even though this internship is for my Justice Administration degree, some of the work I've done (like accounting) reflects my Business management degree too!  It has been fun and rewarding getting to pursue both of my passions in this position so far.