As with any story, it’s best to begin at the beginning.
It all started with a casual conversation with a professor
about my plans after college. I told him it would probably be grad school… but
I think he could tell that I wasn’t entirely sold on the idea. Then the
conversation went something like this:
“Have you ever considered the Peace Corps?”
“No…”
“You should look into it.”
“I will…”
But…I didn’t.
About a month later, after a particularly emotionally taxing
week, I was driving to a coffee shop for a little down time to clear my head and regroup my thoughts. On the way there, an ad came on the radio. One I’d
never heard before. It said:
Would it be crazy if
you packed your bags and left? For a week, a month, a year. What if you left
for two years? What if you were going far away, to help in a village on the
edge of the Gobi Desert, to spend time with people the rest of the world only
reads about. To teach children, and learn a thing or two about yourself. Would
that be crazy? Peace Corps. Life is calling, how far will you go?
I decided that if life was calling, the least I could do was pick
up. So, upon arrival, I ordered my Dirty Hippie, sat down and went straight to
the Peace Corps’ website.
I started filling out my application that very night.
I also began breaking the news to my family and friends. For
the most part, I was met with excitement. A little apprehension, at times. And
maybe a pinch of sadness. But overall, I am blessed to have had the support of
those I love from the very beginning.
After submitting my initial application on November fourteenth I
waited anxiously to hear from a recruiter. I did…and upon filling out a copious
amount of extra forms, I was scheduled for my interview. During the interview I
was told that there weren’t any positions open that I qualified for and that I
would need to wait until March, when new positions would be opening up, to get
a nomination.
On January eleventh, less than a month later, I received a phone
call. She had a spot for me! I accepted the nomination to Sub-Saharan Africa
with great excitement!
And now…I’m in what I hear is that most frustrating phase of
application. The medical forms. Working hard to get them done and turned in as
fast as possible, and so excited about what the future holds.
Thank you for joining me on this journey… I hope that this
blog will be as meaningful and enjoyable for you to read as it is for me to
write.
