You know how there are times in life when you don't really know which way is up and which way is down? In all actuality, it seems as if everything in life is a just a big cluster f**k of uncertainty. Well. . .this was how life was for me about two years ago. I was about to graduate college with a degree in Sociology and I saw graduation as a sort of impending cloud of doom that kept creeping closer and closer. All I could think was, "crap. . .my parents are going to make me get a real job." Up until this point, I had been happily passing countless hours bartending at various bars and nightclubs feeding alcohol to anyone from the crazy bag lady who laughs hyterically during conversations held with herself to the high powered, suit-wearing businessman who came in to sip a cocktail while discretely slipping his wedding ring into his pocket. Dirty martini? Sure.. .anything to help you forget about your wife so you'll spend more money. Perhaps not the most ethical thing to encourage, but business is business and the rent is due! Yes. . .this was the life.
We all have to grow up sometime and I knew my party girl days were coming to an end. Part of me was glad to have something else to look forward to, but the problem was what? What was there to look forward to? A 9 to 5 job that I hate? Being stuck behind a desk getting paid every other week with a paycheck that amounts to what I would make in a weekend at the nightclub? Great. Real life here I come! Okay, so I'm not as cynical as this probably makes me sound, but really. . .what was I going to do with a Sociology degree? Then it hit me. . . Peace Corps! I'm not sure how this stroke of genius came to me, but it did. To be honest I had known about the Peace Corps for a really long time and had always been interested in joining. At some point in my life I knew I wanted to do some type of humanitarian aid work so signing on to volunteer two years of my life seemed like the perfect fit. Applying for Peace Corps proved to be very costly with all the medical screenings and no health insurance, (the one drawback of bartending,) but it only took a a few months for them to look everything over and give me the seal of approval.
So the next decision. . .where do I want to go? I got to choose five possible regions, but no specific countries. Did I want to go for something really rugged? No electricity, living in mud huts, shitting in holes dug in the ground? Haha. Oy. Anyone who knows me probably can't imagine me living in conditions like this which is part of the reason I wanted to go somewhere where a shower would be a special amenity and not the norm. I wanted to prove to myself that I could live like this and be okay. Life had gotten so crazy the last few years that I was ready to shed my skin and move on to something drastically different. I finally decided on the Pacific Islands/Caribbean, with Africa and South America coming in a close second and third. At the end of May I received an envelope from the Peace Corps that officially invited me to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Eastern Caribbean with my departure date set for the end of July. Upon reading this, I felt so many emotions at once I'm surprised I didn't spontaneously combust into a ball of flames. I was excited at first, then panic. . ."oh shit, what did I do" was the next thought to enter my mind, followed by. . ."I'm not going to eat Taco Bell for 27 months!" It's one thing to go through the motions of making a huge life change, but once you're committed, that's a whole other issue. I essentially had two months to graduate college, sell my car, sell/donate my furniture, pack up all of my belongings and say good bye to friends and family, but. . .I was ready.
Chapter two of my life was coming to an end, and the great unknown was staring me in the face daring me to back down. Not a chance.
We all have to grow up sometime and I knew my party girl days were coming to an end. Part of me was glad to have something else to look forward to, but the problem was what? What was there to look forward to? A 9 to 5 job that I hate? Being stuck behind a desk getting paid every other week with a paycheck that amounts to what I would make in a weekend at the nightclub? Great. Real life here I come! Okay, so I'm not as cynical as this probably makes me sound, but really. . .what was I going to do with a Sociology degree? Then it hit me. . . Peace Corps! I'm not sure how this stroke of genius came to me, but it did. To be honest I had known about the Peace Corps for a really long time and had always been interested in joining. At some point in my life I knew I wanted to do some type of humanitarian aid work so signing on to volunteer two years of my life seemed like the perfect fit. Applying for Peace Corps proved to be very costly with all the medical screenings and no health insurance, (the one drawback of bartending,) but it only took a a few months for them to look everything over and give me the seal of approval.
So the next decision. . .where do I want to go? I got to choose five possible regions, but no specific countries. Did I want to go for something really rugged? No electricity, living in mud huts, shitting in holes dug in the ground? Haha. Oy. Anyone who knows me probably can't imagine me living in conditions like this which is part of the reason I wanted to go somewhere where a shower would be a special amenity and not the norm. I wanted to prove to myself that I could live like this and be okay. Life had gotten so crazy the last few years that I was ready to shed my skin and move on to something drastically different. I finally decided on the Pacific Islands/Caribbean, with Africa and South America coming in a close second and third. At the end of May I received an envelope from the Peace Corps that officially invited me to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Eastern Caribbean with my departure date set for the end of July. Upon reading this, I felt so many emotions at once I'm surprised I didn't spontaneously combust into a ball of flames. I was excited at first, then panic. . ."oh shit, what did I do" was the next thought to enter my mind, followed by. . ."I'm not going to eat Taco Bell for 27 months!" It's one thing to go through the motions of making a huge life change, but once you're committed, that's a whole other issue. I essentially had two months to graduate college, sell my car, sell/donate my furniture, pack up all of my belongings and say good bye to friends and family, but. . .I was ready.
Chapter two of my life was coming to an end, and the great unknown was staring me in the face daring me to back down. Not a chance.
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