I've said the phrase a few times already to some friends who I won't be able to see again before my departure. It hasn't sunk in just quite yet. Similar to when I studied in the Dominican Republic, it probably won't hit me until a day or two beforehand. Or I may not even feel it until I land in Philadelphia for a brief orientation.
I started to think about those who will be sad for my departure and how I should feel that sadness too. But I shouldn't because I'm not doing this against my will. This is an active decision that I will take full responsibility for. "It'll be an adventure," one friend told me. Yes, I will miss many of you, but I need this.
Some of you have asked me why I decided to do this. Not one reason drove me in the direction of the Peace Corps. A few did. Here are they below (in no particular order):
1. I Have Nothing Else Better To Do
I am at an interesting crossroads in my life right now. I have put my college years behind but haven't quite stepped into full adulthood. So I figured that I have nothing else better to do. Why not go live a different and new life for awhile?
2. Advance My Career
Once I complete 3 months of training and 2 full years of teaching, I will have the experience to either launch a career as an ESL teacher abroad or go back to the States, possibly after further certification and college courses.
3. I Can't Sit Still
My Dad once told me that he believes weekends my sister and I spent with him just riding around in the car nurtured my thirst for travel. Now when he calls, he asks "Where in the world are you?" Every time I returned from a vacation, I would figure out where the next place I would visit would be. So now I decided to go off the radar for a bit and hit up a part of the world I don't quite understand just yet (if I can even say with certainty that there is ANY part of the world I do "understand").
4. I Want To Help People
I know that my presence in the Peace Corps will not change the world, but I believe I can do more good while in the Peace Corps (or do something similar) than I could sitting in a cubicle, typing away my days.
5. Doing Something Different (and not for the sake of being different)
Too many people surrender to the 40-hour workweek in the cubicle, surrounded by others in the same prison system. They live in the suburbs, get married, and have kids. They do the same song and dance as everyone else. I can't see myself doing that. I need something different, something with a kick.
Maybe after 27 months, I'll be so burned out that the lifestyle I sneaked away from will be the same lifestyle I'll come crawling back for. Who knows? Only time will tell.
