WASHINGTON — Democratic Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa sums up what she learned in her first year in Congress with a mantra she got from a Republican colleague on Capitol Hill.

“‘One step at a time,’ that’s a quote from (Alaska Rep.) Don Young,” Hanabusa told Civil Beat. “You like to think that everyone sees things the way you do but that’s not true. Take it one step at a time, and remember we all tend to take things personally but a lot of things are not personal.”

Of course, it hasn’t been easy. Hanabusa joined Congress just in time to be part of the legislative body that nosedived to a record-low public approval rating. Her first year in Congress was marked by gridlock and the repeated threat of federal government shutdowns. As a result, Hanabusa said, patience is the biggest thing she’s learned since she was sworn in last January.

“The one thing that I brought with me as being (Hawaii) Senate president is the fact that once I decided that something was going to go a certain way, in an administrative way, for the Senate, it usually did,” Hanabusa said. “That is not the position I’m in now, and I recognize that. You have to be patient.”

At the same time, Hanabusa believes she has helped make decisions that change Hawaii for the better. She cites her opposition to EPA regulations that would have affected Hawaii’s last operating sugar mill on Maui. Her position was unpopular with environmental groups, but potentially helped save hundreds of jobs, she said.

“When it’s time to vote on major pieces of legislation, I have voted for Hawaii, even if it means voting against certain special interest groups,” Hanabusa said. “Of course it’s good for Hawaii to keep sugar going. Would it be popular with environmentalists? Of course not. You’re taking on the EPA and voting with Republicans.”

Hanabusa is also proud of her involvement on a newly created defense panel that focuses on how small businesses can get lucrative government defense contracts. She’s one of three Democrats and four Republicans on the panel.

At her one-year mark, Hanabusa is already facing re-election in 2012. Whether or not it’s a deliberate campaign strategy, it makes sense that Hanabusa is playing up her aisle-crossing work with Republicans as she prepares to fight back a challenge from Republican former Congressman Charles Djou.

While the partisan divide on Capitol Hill seems visible from outer space these days, Hanabusa still says her “biggest surprise” came when a bipartisan deal — the Senate budget agreement just before Christmas — fell apart.

Hanabusa describes “that split in votes when I thought it was a well done deal” as something she “sort of expected but was never really prepared for.”

There is a lesson there, Hanabusa said: “Realize that no matter how brilliant you may think you are or how in tune you may think you are or how out of touch the next person is, as long as that person’s constituency has voted that person in, they have the absolute same right to the same one vote that you have.”

One year from now, Hanabusa said she hopes she’s celebrating her two-year anniversary in Congress, and that she will have “evolved as a congressperson to the point where people not only feel a level of confidence, but that I feel that I’m able to do more for Hawaii.”

Asked for some other predictions about January 2013, Hanabusa doesn’t miss a beat: “Of course I would hope that we have our president re-elected and that the Senate retains its (Democratic) majority and that the House is able to take back the majority status as well. That’s what I hope. Then it’s a different kind of battle: A different kind of challenge but it’s still a challenge.”