Washington D.C. is quite different from the Red Stick, and the gap between the two has grown even more since the change in political climate.Franklin Jones, a middle-aged snack vendor in the National Mall, has lived in Washington his entire life and has witnessed the change in attitude since Barack Obama took office.”Not so angry anymore,” said Jones. “They’re much more upbeat than when Bush was here.”Jones’ claim of better moods can almost be confirmed by the merry-go-round that plays “America the Beautiful” or the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival.”[Washington D.C.] has it’s ups and downs — it’s fast-paced,” Jones said. “But I’ll never live anywhere else.”The ever-changing environment separates this city from Baton Rouge. There are different things to do, like visiting the live butterfly exhibit in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History or walking through the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.D.C. has convenient, affordable public transportation in a culutural melting pot with a Starbucks on every corner.For a city of only 100-square miles, it is jam-packed with action. The nightlife venues in Georgetown had lines of people waiting to enter with plenty of patrons who didn’t live in the area.Students from both Vanderbilt University and the University of Georgia gathered at Old Glory Bar-B-Que, a bar most similar to JL’s Place or Happy’s Pub, and drank $10 Patron shots. Other visitors wearing “New Orleans” shirts drank pints of beer and danced to Lady Gaga.While a bill to ban smoking in Baton Rouge bars recently died, most bars in D.C. do not allow smoking, and it’s resulted in less trash both indoors and outdoors. Minus the occasional beggar with few visible teeth, the city’s hygiene remains overall very well maintained. While I try to visit Washington D.C. as often as I can, the grandiosity of the area continues to stun me.——Contact Ashely Norsworthy at [email protected]