"What made you wanna do that?!"

Every time I tell someone new that I'm headed into the Peace Corps, I'm met with one of two responses. Half the time, the person I'm talking to gets immediately excited and begins explaining to me how badly she wants to travel, or how he wishes he was brave enough to take such a huge leap, or how she knows it will be amazing to live completely immersed in a new culture for the next two years, or how he hopes it will impact me in ways I can't yet perceive. Generally these people are super supportive and enthusiastically positive. They beg for pictures and stories and can't wait to see how it all unfolds. Needless to say, these conversations are sooo encouraging and exciting to have! =)

The other half of the people I talk to all respond exactly the same way: "Wow...the Peace Corps? What made you want to do that!?" Their looks of polite surprise typically fade to horror as soon as I tell them it's a two year commitment and that I'm willing to live at the standards of my new community in a third world country for that long on practically no salary. "But you'd be giving up everything you have here!" "But what about settling down? You'll be almost 27 when you come back!" "There are people here you can help, why not help them?" "Won't you get some horrible disease there?" And the one that everyone feels the need to point out..."Two years is a longgg time!" (As if I didn't fully consider all of those things before applying, during the interviewing process, and when I received my invitation.)

Depending on my mood, I generally respond graciously and try to assume that such discouraging remarks are the product of concern for my safety, rather than blatant disapproval of such a life-changing decision. The good part of those conversations though, is that I'm forced to really consider and discuss why it is that I do, in fact, want to join the Peace Corps.

To me, Peace Corps is the opportunity of a lifetime. The government is paying for me to live in a new part of the world - Nicaragua, The Land of Lakes and Volcanoes - while I am able to live my dream of making a difference in our global community. I'm going to receive three months of intense language, cultural, and technical training that will benefit me long after my two years of service in Nicaragua. I'll be teaching, which has been my passion for as long as I can remember, and I'll be doing so completely in Spanish! I'll come home a new person who's met and overcome challenges no one here has ever had to deal with. I'll have amazing grad school options and awesome job opportunities.

None of the above-stated benefits however, were what got me interested in joining the Peace Corps. Instead, it was my desire to positively impact the world around me coupled with my need to break out of the "normal" expectations of life after college. I've never understood how people can be happy just staying in one place and working in one job for their entire lives. I'm in no way trying to belittle those who are content in one place. All I'm saying is that I'm nowhere near ready for any kind of permanence in my life right now. I'm only 24! I want to travel and explore and really get to know what it's like outside of the NY bubble. I want to meet people with a different perspective on life, and gain a new perspective for myself. I want to learn about the world through my own experiences, rather than by watching or reading about other people who have traveled it. More importantly, I want to know that my daily work will have a lasting positive impact and that my skills are being used where they are needed most. I wish I could say that going into the Peace Corps is entirely selfless and that I'm doing it strictly to make a difference in the lives of the people I'm working with, but it's so much more than that. I know I'm going to be completely changed by the people I meet and the experiences I'll have there.

Sure, I know there are going to be real struggles and challenges. I know that living without many of the luxuries I'm used to will be difficult. I know that coming home without an established 401K will be a disadvantage. I know many of my friends may be comfortably settled down when I return. I know two years is a longggg time. I also know that this will be the experience of a lifetime, and I'd rather have that, than the security of knowing exactly how things will turn out. =)

To those of you who have been behind me this whole way, thank you so so much. It means the world to me and I couldn't have done it without you. You know who you are, and for your support I am truly grateful. <3 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship.

The Peace Corps' mission has three simple goals:

1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
http://www.peacecorps.gov/