I was a late bloomer at Scripps.

I declared my major at the last minute, after considering close to everything. I ultimately declared a legal studies major. As backwards as it sounds, I realized after I declared it and took more classes in the major that it was my dream come true, and nothing could ever compare. My on-campus and summer jobs and programs have all been related to foreign languages, journalism, and education. All of these experiences were incredible, of course, and I grew in so many ways through them, but they only satisfied some of the very specific requirements that (apparently) need to be met to motivate me to go to work every day.

And I won’t get out of bed for anything less, doggone it!

But the bad news is that I’ve only really known all this for less than a year, so I have no work experience in government or law. I knew I needed to find a government internship this summer. Finding one was really hard. I’d had a bunch of great experience, but I just didn’t have the background to prove I could do the job. I applied to work on Capitol Hill, and didn’t get the internship. Honestly, I was so relieved. I knew I wasn’t ready yet.

So I scaled back. I went local.

I ended up getting an internship working for a really incredible lawmaker in my home state. I started my job a few weeks ago, and I really, really love it.

The office I’m working in has way fewer employees than does one on the federal level, especially since the state I live in is so small. My office has four full-time people plus me, and I never feel like I’m the smallest voice or the least important person in the room. But I am definitely the littlest fish in this pond—all four of my co-workers are so talented and experienced, and I am so lucky to get to absorb everything they’re teaching me.

I also get to do more than I might otherwise as an intern. Of course, there’s the normal intern-y things like photocopying, printing mailing labels, and transferring phone calls to the people who actually know what they’re talking about.

Of course, I’ll plug you right through.

But I do get to take calls from folks who just want to express their opinions regarding the job my lawmaker’s doing and I get to draft letters in response to their concerns–basically, I’m representing the lawmaker to the people who will eventually have to decide whether or not to vote for her. My manager also lets me take on casework, which means that I get to help people who are having trouble with government agencies like Veterans Affairs or Immigration Services. Again, I’m representing my lawmaker, AND I’m learning hands-on about the federal bureaucracy and how to navigate it. Definitely not just intern-y stuff.

While answering phones in what feels like a regular, old office and living at home sounds much less sexy than “I have an internship on The Hill,” I’ve learned so much already, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the summer holds.

So my advice to those of you in the same boat as me: don’t be afraid to start small. While those really prestigious internships are great opportunities, you might actually get more responsibility if you’re in a smaller office that has less intense (but still super important) work to do. Recommendations are priceless, and it’s even easier to impress your boss when they’ve only got four people in the office, rather than forty. Keep an eye out for those little gems! Most lawmakers have state, district, or outreach offices, depending on the level of government, and most of those offices need interns.

A start is a start, no matter how small. Don’t be afraid to run with it and see what you get!