The Beginning

To be honest, I am very excited to begin my Peace Corps blog. It means that I am far enough along in the application process to believe that the application will eventually follow through, and I will become a Peace Corps volunteer. It's been about a year since I began the application and I am even more excited now than I was last April.

I had the Peace Corps on my mind for a few years but never looked into it seriously. During my last semester in college, a Peace Corps recruiter was the guest speaker in a macro-social work class. He explained that the Peace Corps was in high demand of French speakers. He also speculated that as future social workers, my class would be interested in gaining cross cultural experience, leadership skills, adaptability, flexibility, and patience. He certainly had my attention. After researching the Peace Corps extensively, I knew this was something I wanted to do.

Thus began the application process. Throughout this time, I talked to several volunteers, read memoires and books, and spoke to recruiters. I also stalked volunteer blogs and application timelines. It was very helpful to see others’ application process, and this gave me patience during times of freak out.

In September I began a part-time social worker position at a nursing home. I was so excited to begin my job, because before the offer, I honestly thought I would never get a job. Applying to a hundred jobs can do that to a person. Through this time, I fell off the Peace Corps wagon and focused on my new job. I then questioned if I really was ready to make a 27 month commitment abroad. That meant I would give up my job as a medical social worker, my job as a dance instructor, the rest of my early 20’s, the comforts and conveniences of Western culture, and familiarity.

I let my application status go inactive while my focus was elsewhere. At the same time, friends were moving to different states or even different countries. I felt jealous every time I saw someone doing something exciting with their new found post-graduation freedom. I realized that I am not ready to work a 9-5 job for the next 45 years. I don’t want to be able to predict what my life will be like in five years or even one year. I want to take risks, face challenges, and grow as a person. 

So why do I want to join the Peace Corps? Why do I want cross the world to serve in a foreign community in which I know nothing about the culture, and zero words of the language? Because this is an amazing opportunity to help people in a community that has challenges different from mine, and help create positive sustainable change in a global community. This is an opportunity to pass on knowledge that may benefit another person, and at the same time, gain knowledge and perspective from others that would help me grow beyond what I could otherwise. This is an opportunity I have to take advantage of because if I didn’t, I would regret not joining the Peace Corps for a long time. I just have this feeling that this is what I’m “meant” to do. My past experiences have leaded me to this point. And now, I can’t wait to go!